’People these days have no morals. They all want to use me as a stepping stone. If I hadn’t sensed it early on, I would’ve fallen right into your trap.’

Outside Jing’an Town, Qi Yun stood in the rain, holding an oil-paper umbrella. He shook his head as he watched Li Ran and the others arguing, then transformed into a wisp of Clear Wind, speeding toward them.

...

Inside the town, the argument was in full swing.

"You useless piece of shit! You couldn’t even watch one person! Are those two holes under your eyebrows just for decoration?!" Li Ran was so furious he looked like he wanted to jab his fingers right into Jiang Mingyuan’s eyes.

’I went to such great lengths to set this up, even taking out a loan from the Holy Sect to buy the Demon Luo Blood Net. It was all to capture Qi Yun, seize his Star-Attracting Talisman, and sell it to that senior brother.’

’Not only would I have made a fortune...’

’...I could have also gotten into that senior brother’s good graces and reached the pinnacle of my life.’

’But now... it’s all gone!’

"Li Ran! Cut the fucking bullshit!" Jiang Mingyuan, incensed by the verbal abuse, stuck his neck out and retorted,

"I’m not your fucking slave! If you’re so damn capable, how come you didn’t realize he was a fake?! Don’t blame the road for being bumpy if you’re the one who can’t see!"

With Li Ran shouting curses right in his face, Jiang Mingyuan’s own anger flared, and the two immediately locked horns.

The others nearby saw what was happening and rushed to intervene, afraid the two would actually come to blows.

But amidst the chaos and noise, an imperceptible wisp of Clear Wind had already drifted silently past the boundary marker at the town’s entrance, crossing into Jing’an Town.

DING-A-LING—

With a soft chime, a crimson Copper Bell tied to Sun Changxing’s waist suddenly rang out.

"Hm?"

Sun Changxing frowned, looking in surprise at the Copper Bell on his waist. It was a protective charm his father had given him, one that could sense malice and provide an early warning.

He scanned his surroundings, but saw nothing out of the ordinary besides the torrential rain.

But as Sun Changxing’s gaze fell upon the patch of black Iron Sand on the ground, his pupils shrank. Alarms screamed in his mind, and he roared a frantic warning:

"Watch out! He’s co—"

Before he could finish his shout, a cyan-white Sword Qi erupted from the back of Sun Changxing’s head, spraying a shower of blood and brain matter that instantly stained the falling rain red.

THUD—

Stunned, the remaining men stared at Sun Changxing’s corpse—his head burst open by a single sword strike—their gazes turning blankly toward the figure that was slowly materializing.

"Why the long faces? Weren’t you all waiting for me? Now that I’m here, you don’t seem very happy."

Qi Yun let out a soft chuckle as his eyes swept over them.

"Heheheh. Three at the Qi Refining Second Layer, four at the Qi Refining Third Layer."

"And you lot... dare to come and kill me?!"

Before he finished speaking, the patch of black Iron Sand beneath the Demon Luo Blood Net erupted. In an instant, it transformed into more than a dozen three-edged spikes, shooting toward the remaining seven people from a variety of cunning angles.

"Arrogant bastard!"

Li Ran was shocked that Qi Yun would dare to face them alone, even launching a sneak attack that killed Sun Changxing. But he wasn’t panicked. With a furious roar, he shattered the spike aimed at his face with a single slash of his blade. His True Qi surged, and a faint green light began to emanate from his skin.

"A Martial Cultivator?"

A calm smile on his face, Qi Yun didn’t dodge or evade the charging Li Ran. Instead, three cackling White Bone Skeletons flew out from behind him.

One of them opened its ghastly white jawbone and clamped down on Li Ran’s saber. The other two took aim at his face and spat out a mouthful of aged Yin Sha Corpse Qi, as thick as ink and nauseatingly foul.

"Nngh!"

Hit square in the face by the highly concentrated Yin Sha Corpse Qi, Li Ran let out a muffled grunt. A burning pain seared his eyes, blinding him instantly. His face was also corroded, leaving behind a series of thumb-sized pits.

"Despicable!"

His eyes ruined, Li Ran swung his saber in a rage, forcing back the White Bone Skeletons as they tried to advance. He bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of True Yang Saliva, mixing it with the rain and smearing it over his eyes.

His vision barely restored, Li Ran squinted ahead, only to see Qi Yun forming hand seals for a Spell. A strand of cyan-white Sword Aura was rapidly gathering.

’Not good!’

A jolt of alarm shot through him. Li Ran keenly sensed the direction indicated by Qi Yun’s Sword Formulas and quickly shifted his body to dodge the other way.

SWOOSH—SWOOSH—

The next second!

Two streams of Sword Qi shot out at the same time, one to the left and one to the right!

Having dodged perfectly—straight into the path of the second Sword Qi—Li Ran’s eyes went wide. Before the curse could even leave his lips, a bloody hole erupted between his brows.

THUD!

His convulsing corpse slammed heavily onto the ground, crimson blood pooling around him.

In less than a blink of an eye, Li Ran—one of the three strongest fighters in their group—was dead, his head blown open just like Sun Changxing’s.

Frowning at the blood that had splattered onto the corner of his sleeve, Qi Yun turned to face the remaining six.

In his clear, bright eyes, a bone-chilling light glinted.

"He’s alone! Let’s get him together!"

Forcibly suppressing the terror in his heart, Jiang Mingyuan yelled to rally his companions.

"Alone?"

Qi Yun raised a brow, the corner of his mouth curling into a knowing smile.

The next instant!

The air behind him seemed to boil. Four ferocious, calf-sized Bronze Wolf Dogs appeared, their low growls rumbling as their heavy paws CLANGED against the ground.

At the same time, the black Iron Sand on the ground began to rapidly coalesce, reforming into a figure identical to Qi Yun himself.

Add to that the three cackling White Bone Skeletons hovering in the air, eerie Ghost Fire flickering in their eye sockets.

With all his creations surrounding him, a terrifying, oppressive aura suddenly radiated from Qi Yun.

Tilting his head up slightly, Qi Yun looked down at Jiang Mingyuan’s group with his hands clasped behind his back. He sneered, and three bone-chilling words escaped his lips:

"Leave none alive!"

...

「Deep within Qingquan Mountain, Old Dragon Pool.」

It was an ancient pool of water, its surface placid and its depths as black as ink.

Legend told that this area had once been a barren wasteland. Then one day, a strange celestial event occurred: a massive, dark shadow resembling a True Dragon fell from the sky and crashed into the earth here.

By the next day, this fathomless, frigid pool had formed.

Old Dragon Pool was said to be bottomless. Many locals had dived into its waters over the years, trying to discover its true depth.

But even the most skilled among them never reached the bottom.

This led some to speculate that the old pool connected to the endless ocean floor, and that if one could dive deep enough, they would find the legendary Dragon Palace.

However, a legend was just a legend.

If a Dragon Palace truly existed beneath Old Dragon Pool, the site was only a few hundred li from the Wuji Holy Sect.

Knowing the Holy Sect’s style, they would have carted off both the dragon and the palace long ago.

They would never have allowed it to remain here undisturbed.

And today, Old Dragon Pool was livelier than it had ever been.

Around the pool’s edge, more than a hundred Holy Sect Disciples from the various Outer Mansions had gathered, each exuding a unique aura.

Yet, faced with the bottomless, silent, and profoundly deep pool, which emanated an unknown chill, no one dared to make a rash move. No one wanted to be the fool who went in first to test the waters.

And so, the situation fell into a stalemate.

...