CRUNCH—

Qi Yun walked across the cratered ground, where even the surrounding trees had been razed, and came to stand before the mangled remains of Chu Tiankuang and his men.

With a mere thought, the dark Iron Sand that had yet to fully disperse flowed like a living creature, gathering into a thin but tough iron thread. It precisely plucked several blood-and-gore-stained Storage Pouches from the mangled wreckage of flesh and bone, levitating them before him.

"You..."

An extremely faint, gurgling gasp, mixed with the sound of frothing blood, came from the direction of Chu Tiankuang’s nearly-smashed skull.

He was somehow still clinging to his last breath. Forcing his eyes open a crack, he stared fixedly at Qi Yun’s figure, his gaze filled with endless pain, indignation, and venomous hatred.

BAM!

The next second.

An iron fist smashed down without hesitation, completely extinguishing the life of the Qi Refining Fourth Layer Cultivator.

"Hm? I thought I heard a fly buzzing."

Glancing around nonchalantly, Qi Yun flicked the bits of flesh from the Storage Pouches in his hand, then his body transformed into a wisp of Clear Wind and vanished into the distance.

...

「About half a day after Qi Yun’s departure.」

Another group of Wuji Holy Sect’s Outer Mansion Disciples, also heading toward Qingquan Mountain, happened to pass by the area.

"Whoa, did someone have a deadly Magical Combat here?"

Staring at the razed forest, Lin Zhen looked astonished. This place was barely a hundred li from the Holy Sect. What kind of deep-seated hatred would drive someone to fight to the death so close by, so impatiently?

"Judging by the scale, it was probably a brawl involving dozens of people." Muttering to himself, Lin Zhen clicked his tongue as he surveyed the hundreds of craters of all sizes dotting the ground. Then he turned and saw the gruesome corpses of Chu Tiankuang and his men.

"Holy shit! It really *was* deep-seated hatred! Were they beaten to death with bare fists?"

Lin Zhen’s exclamation drew the attention of the other Outer Mansion Disciples.

The crowd gathered around, and after just one glance, their expressions instantly turned grim.

On those five corpses, there was barely an inch of intact bone. Their entire bodies looked as if they had been tossed into a stone mortar and repeatedly pulverized by immense force, leaving them limp and flattened on the ground, almost indistinguishable from the minced flesh and bloody mud.

The ghastly state of their deaths was nauseating.

"Beating people to death with bare fists... that’s clearly the work of a Martial Cultivator," one of them said, his voice trembling.

"I know this person!" Lin Zhen said, fighting back his nausea as he pointed at the barely recognizable scraps of clothing and accessories on one of the bodies.

"That’s Chu Tiankuang from the Second Outer Mansion.

I heard his Cultivation was already at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Even he... even he was beaten into this state... Could the attacker have been a peak Martial Cultivator of the same Realm?

Or... someone at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer?!"

Staring at Chu Tiankuang’s corpse, Lin Zhen and the others exchanged awkward glances.

A suspected Qi Refining Fifth Layer Martial Cultivator—one with a violent, almost perverse temperament who enjoyed smashing people into paste—was also heading to Qingquan Mountain to seize the Enlightenment Bell.

So... should they still go?

If they went and ran into him, with their Cultivation peaking at the Qi Refining Third Layer, they’d probably be hammered into meat paste as well.

"Hiss... I just remembered, I don’t think I brought in the laundry I hung out to dry. Why don’t you guys go on ahead? I’ll go back and get my clothes, then I’ll catch up."

After a moment of silence, one man slapped his forehead with a look of regret. He started backing away while still offering polite words.

"Hey, you just reminded me! I left a pot of water on the stove. Everyone, I’ll see you all later, haha."

"My stomach hurts. I need to find a place to relieve myself."

The Enlightenment Bell was precious, but life was more so!

In no time at all, the group that had just been marching forward so imposingly had found their respective excuses and headed back to the Holy Sect.

...

By the side of a babbling brook, Qi Yun carefully submerged the Storage Pouches he had just pulled from the bloody mess into the cool stream water, rinsing them again and again.

Only when not a single trace of blood or flesh remained did he finally take them out one by one and arrange them neatly on a smooth stone beside him.

"Time for the fun part—opening the treasure chests~"

After piously washing his hands, Qi Yun picked up Chu Tiankuang’s Storage Pouch first.

This person had the highest Cultivation, Qi Refining Fourth Layer, and his clothes had clearly been more luxurious and extravagant than the average person’s.

’He was most likely a second-generation heir.’

He expertly untied the Storage Pouch’s drawstring, slowly pulled open the mouth of the bag, and peered inside with half-lidded eyes.

"Hiss! Good heavens!"

Seeing the contents of the Storage Pouch, Qi Yun couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath. He turned the pouch upside down and gave it two hard shakes.

Other than a messy pile of miscellaneous junk that fell out with a CLANG...

...there was nothing of value.

"What a well-hidden poor bastard. I misjudged him."

The corner of his mouth twitched. He casually tossed Chu Tiankuang’s Storage Pouch aside and moved on to the next. In the blink of an eye, all four Storage Pouches had been opened.

The mountain of junk piled up in front of him made Qi Yun fall silent, his face expressionless. His gaze then fell upon the final Storage Pouch.

"’Birds of a feather flock together.’ The ancients truly did not deceive me! They’re just a whole nest of poor bastards."

Prying open the last Storage Pouch, a sliver of unusual Dharma Light flashed before Qi Yun’s eyes.

"Hm?"

A sudden turn for the better. The listless Qi Yun immediately perked up. He stretched the bag’s opening wide and followed the Dharma Light with his eyes.

It was a Jade Throne Golden Buddha, over a foot tall. A shimmering Dharma Light flowed across its surface, making this Spiritual Object seem quite extraordinary.

Gazing at the Jade Throne Golden Buddha, Qi Yun felt a familiar stirring in his heart.

’A Metal Element Spiritual Object?’

Raising an eyebrow, Qi Yun reached in and took out the Jade Throne Golden Buddha.

’It seems my luck wasn’t bad after all; it was just all saved up for this moment.’

A Metal Element Spiritual Object was what he needed most right now.

Both his [Basic Sword Qi] and his new magic, [Sand Iron Skill], were Gold Element Techniques.

They could be upgraded using Metal Element Spiritual Objects.

This was especially true for the [Sand Iron Skill]. As Chu Tiankuang and his four men had personally experienced, the magic’s beyond-visual-range killing power and immense physical destructive capability were truly impressive.

If its power could be raised another level, it would be enough to kill a Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivator in a direct confrontation.

And if he added the coordinated attacks of the White Bone Skeleton and the Bronze Wolf Dog, he might even have a chance to slay someone at the Qi Refining Fifth Layer!

Moreover, compared to the [Basic Sword Qi], which had stronger single-target lethality, this magic offered greater control and versatility.

On this mission, he would most likely have to face being surrounded and attacked by multiple opponents.

The [Basic Sword Qi] had a singular effect; it was good for one-on-one fights, but fell short against multiple opponents.

’I’ll upgrade the [Sand Iron Skill] first!’

Qi Yun gripped the Jade Throne Golden Buddha. The Magic Technique Panel appeared on its own, and in an instant, the Refinement process began.

At that moment, as Qi Yun began to subjectively intervene in the Spiritual Object’s Refinement, he took control of the flow of Daoist Intent, directing all of it toward the [Sand Iron Skill].

The process was quite difficult, but thankfully, the Magic Technique Panel still obeyed his will. Soon, the upgrade progress bar for the [Sand Iron Skill] was filled.

[Magic update complete. This was a minor version update. The magic’s effects have been adjusted as follows.]

...