Translator: CinderTL
Qingyi City.
Song Wen stood suspended in mid-air, gazing at the mountain range a hundred miles east of the city.
There, amidst swirling clouds and mist, the upturned eaves and ornate corners of buildings were faintly visible—crimson balustrades and jade-paved terraces. Pavilions and towers were nestled among the peaks in perfect harmony.
This was the Li Clan's ancestral domain in Qingyi City.
Between Qingyi City and the Li Clan's domain lay a hundred miles of mountainous terrain, but it had been flattened by immense power into a small, barren plain, devoid of even a single blade of grass, offering an unobstructed view.
Song Wen sought to retrieve the Nether Fox and the four Gu insects. His only lead was the Li Clan of Qingyi City.
If the Li Clan was indeed responsible, then the culprit must be a Void Refinement Stage cultivator from their ranks.
Before this, Song Wen had investigated Qingyi City and learned that the Li Clan had six Void Refinement Stage cultivators—four men and two women. The clan's most powerful member was an elderly man in the mid-Body Integration Stage, the clan's sole Body Integration Stage cultivator. This elder was over nine thousand years old, with only a few centuries of lifespan remaining.
Song Wen knew that to uncover any useful clues, he needed to draw out at least one Void Refinement Stage cultivator from the Li Clan. Divine Transformation Stage cultivators or those of lower cultivation levels would have no access to information about this matter.
The challenge lay in how to draw out a Void Refinement Stage cultivator from the Li Clan.
Unless there was a matter of utmost urgency, Void Refinement Stage cultivators rarely ventured out. Their secluded cultivation sessions could last for thirty to fifty years, or even longer.
Song Wen couldn't afford to waste time waiting here.
His gaze swept across the plain stretching between Qingyi City and the Li Clan's territory, where numerous people traveled back and forth.
When he noticed a commotion in the distance, Song Wen's eyes lit up slightly.
Just outside Qingyi City, a young man in the Nascent Soul Stage stood wielding a long whip, lashing it with brutal force.
Crack!
The whip struck a middle-aged female cultivator.
The woman, only at the golden core stage, had no time to evade. The blow tore through her flesh, leaving her bleeding profusely as she was sent flying several miles before crashing heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust and shattered stones.
Behind the young man stood a male cultivator in the early Divine Transformation Stage.
The man was lean, with a neatly trimmed Eight-Character Mustache.
He deliberately hunched his back, bowing obsequiously, his posture radiating fawning subservience.
With a flick of spiritual power, he dragged the severely injured female cultivator back to the young man's feet.
"Young Master, continue!"
The young man gazed down at the woman at his feet, a cold smirk twisting his lips.
"You wretched woman! How dare you refuse me? This is your punishment."
The woman lay on the ground, coughing up mouthfuls of blood that stained her cheeks crimson, yet traces of her former beauty still lingered.
The whip had struck her chest, tearing through her clothes and flesh, leaving her ribs shattered and her crimson organs exposed.
"Young Master, please spare my life! I'll do anything you ask."
The young man remained unmoved by her desperate pleas.
"Too late! I have no use for you in this state."
He raised his right foot and stomped down with brutal force.
The woman's skull shattered instantly, splattering the ground with blood.
The young man glanced disdainfully at her mangled corpse, then at his right foot, now coated in thick blood and gore.
"A whore is a whore. Even in death, she still manages to soil my shoes."
"Young Master Ming!" Eight-Character Mustache, who had been standing behind them, suddenly crouched down and placed his hand under the young man's right foot. "Allow me to clean this for you, Young Master."
As he spoke, wisps of faint spiritual power flowed from his hand, gradually removing the bloodstains from Young Master Ming's shoe.
Nearby cultivators, witnessing this scene, retreated hastily, fearing they might be drawn into trouble.
Just then, a thunderous roar erupted:
"You villain! You dared kill my beloved wife! Prepare to pay with your life!"
Young Master Ming and Eight-Character Mustache, who was still crouched on the ground, jerked their heads up, their eyes wide with shock.
Who would dare attack Young Master Ming outside Qingyi City? Was this man courting death?
Yet, in the next instant, panic flashed across their faces.
The attacker was a divine transformation stage cultivator, wielding a flying sword that shot toward them like lightning.
The flying sword was unmistakably a low-grade spirit treasure, its speed terrifying as it closed the distance to within thirty meters.
"Block him!" Young Master Ming shouted, scrambling backward in a panic.
Eight-Character Mustache didn't even have time to rise before summoning a shield.
Before he could fully activate the shield, the flying sword was already upon them.
Bang!
The shield collided with the flying sword.
Immediately afterward, the shield was sent flying high into the air.
Undeterred, the flying sword continued its trajectory toward Young Master Ming.
Pfft!
The sword pierced Young Master Ming, who had just risen a few dozen feet into the air. It pierced through his chest but didn't exit his body, instead lodging itself within him and dragging him away into the distance.
"Ah... save me..."
Young Master Ming's desperate cries echoed through the air.
A flicker of panic flashed in Eight-Character Mustache's eyes. If Young Master Ming died, his own survival would be short-lived.
He hastily activated the shield, causing sharp spikes to extend from its edges. The shield transformed into a spinning wheel, rotating at high speed as it hurtled toward the divine transformation stage cultivator.
This cultivator was none other than Song Wen, who wielded a ten-foot-long spear. With a casual flick, he sent the shield spinning away.
Without a backward glance, he sped off into the distance.
Young Master Ming, still impaled by the sword, trailed a mere three feet behind Song Wen.
Suddenly, several mystic treasures erupted from Qingyi City: flying swords, daggers, long blades... and more.
All the mystic treasures converged on Song Wen, but he deflected each one with his spear, leaving him completely unscathed. Even his escape speed remained largely unaffected.
Several figures flew out from Qingyi City, seemingly intending to pursue him, but they quickly realized that his speed rivaled that of a Void Refinement Stage cultivator. Even with a person in tow, he was far beyond the reach of a few Divine Transformation Stage cultivators.
"Quick, summon the Void Refinement Stage elders!" someone shouted. Eight-Character Mustache finally snapped out of his daze and hurriedly flew toward the Li Clan's residence.
As for the figures who had flown out from Qingyi City, none attempted to pursue Song Wen, nor did any return to the clan to report the situation.
They couldn't possibly catch Song Wen; moreover, their combined attacks had been effortlessly repelled. Even if they did manage to close the distance, they would likely be the ones to die.
Reporting back to the clan wouldn't necessarily please Young Master Ming's father, Li Rui. In fact, it might make them targets for his wrath, bringing them undeserved misfortune.
They had already tried to rescue the young master, and their failure couldn't be blamed on them.
(End of the Chapter)
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