The village of Qīngshuǐ nestled in a valley of the Xīběi Highlands, sixty kilometers from the nearest major settlement. Three hundred souls called it home—farmers mostly, cultivating spirit rice in terraced fields that climbed the surrounding hills. A few Rank 1 practitioners served as village guards, protecting against wild Qi beasts and bandits. It was peaceful, prosperous in its modest way, and completely isolated.
Perfect.
Zhāng Tiānmìng—or rather, the Red Devil wearing his stolen flesh—observed from a mountainside two kilometers distant. To any observer with detection techniques, he appeared as nothing more than a fluctuation in air temperature, a mirage, easily dismissed. The vessel he wore had been the legendary Hidden Sovereign, master of concealment and information gathering. Those abilities served the Red Devil's purposes beautifully.
