However, he recalled Captain Nie once advising him to avoid practicing any Buddhist Cultivation Technique after reaching the Foundation Establishment realm, warning of the consequences of its influence. Yet, the `Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Evil` Celestial Book indicated this was a fortuitous opportunity.

’Should I cultivate it or not?’

Chen Sheng pondered for a moment but still couldn’t make up his mind.

But he soon pushed the thought aside.

After all, it wasn’t time for him to practice an Innate Cultivation Technique yet. ’If there’s truly any danger,’ he reasoned, ’the `Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Evil` Celestial Book should provide a warning. It won’t be too late to decide after I’ve perfected the Golden Bell Body Refining Technique.’

The third item was a sheet of inky black paper. It was neither metal nor leather, with an extraordinary texture that felt cool and sinister to the touch.

Recorded on it was none other than the refinement method for the Nine Nether Yin Fiend, ranked twenty-sixth on the Earth Fiend List. The main components were the Profound Yin Blood Fiend and the Red Lotus Evil Qi.

These two types of Evil Qi were both among the lower thirty-six grades of Evil Qi. With the addition of some Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects as catalysts, it could be refined.

However, Shanxin had already refined most of the required items into the Red Lotus Evil Qi, saving him a great deal of effort. He was only missing one Spiritual Object called Blood Spirit Jade Marrow, and then he just needed to obtain the Profound Yin Blood Fiend to begin condensing the Nine Nether Yin Fiend.

But Shanxin had not yet retrieved this object; it was still nurturing in a Yin Fiend-rich location somewhere within Ning’an Prefecture. To get his hands on it, he would have to make a trip into Ning’an Prefecture, but that was not for now.

The urgent priority was to find a way to get the Blood Spirit Jade Marrow.

This was because the Profound Yin Blood Fiend was extremely well-hidden and had been deliberately disguised by Shanxin, making it virtually impossible for outsiders to detect. And the longer its Yin Fiend Qi was left to nurture,

the more potent it would become.

In truth, the Red Lotus Evil Qi he now held was extraordinary in itself. As an Evil Qi listed among the lower thirty-six grades of the Earth Fiend List, its value was undeniable. Even within Ning’an Prefecture, it was a superior type of Evil Qi that was incredibly difficult to obtain.

The ability to refine this Evil Qi into one’s body would still be the envy of countless people.

But compared to the top-tier Evil Qi of the upper thirty-six grades, it was ultimately a step below.

After a long period of contemplation, Chen Sheng put away the Blood Jade and the Golden Bell Body Refining Technique manual, then continued to restore his depleted vital blood. Now that Demon Monk Shanxin was dead, next up... was that last remnant, Gao Yuanfeng.

’Things should be proceeding smoothly on County Captain Wu’s end,’ he thought.

.....

「Meanwhile, at the old Gao Clan estate in eastern Changshan County Town.」

The once-brilliant, lamp-lit estate was now nothing but dead silence and darkness. The thick stench of blood, even after being weathered by the wind for several days, still clung to the broken walls and ruins.

It was as if it were recounting the human tragedy that had once occurred here.

Inside the empty and gloomy main hall of the Gao Family estate, a single oil lamp provided a sliver of faint light.

Gao Yuanfeng sat alone in the seat of honor belonging to the Patriarch, his gaze vacant as he stared at the brown bloodstains covering the floor. He didn’t move for a long time, as if lost in memories of the past.

He had snuck in secretly; this was the meeting place he had arranged with Demon Monk Shanxin.

According to their agreement, as long as Demon Monk Shanxin brought him Chen Sheng’s head, he would hand over the Blood Spirit Jade Marrow the monk desired. However, he had only been deceiving him from the start.

An item like Blood Spirit Jade Marrow was not only precious but also incredibly difficult to find.

The Gao Family had never actually possessed such a thing; it was merely the bait he had used to persuade Demon Monk Shanxin. Under the circumstances at the time, if he hadn’t offered it as a lure, 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

how could Shanxin have so easily agreed to avenge the Gao Family?

Of course, he knew the consequences of failing to produce the Blood Spirit Jade Marrow. An enraged Shanxin would certainly not let him go. But Gao Yuanfeng no longer cared about any of that.

With the Gao Family destroyed and its bloodline withered, his heart had long since died.

’In any case, I’ve already sent away the remaining Gao Family disciples in advance. Dying here in the Gao ancestral home doesn’t seem so bad... The only condition is that Chen Sheng’s head must first be used as an offering to the hundreds of souls of the Gao Family.’

Time trickled by in the dead silence.

Gao Yuanfeng startled out of his numb reminiscence, his brow furrowing tightly.

’Why hasn’t Shanxin arrived yet?’

He wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed, but it had been at least over two hours. According to his agreement with Shanxin, the monk should have arrived by now. Why was there still no sign of him?

He was well aware of the power of someone at the Innate Level.

’Barring any accidents, he should have succeeded by now.’

’Could it be... that there really was an accident?’

The thought rose subconsciously in Gao Yuanfeng’s mind.

But he quickly dismissed it.

’How is that possible!’

’Shanxin is a genuine Innate Level Powerhouse, and his strength has mostly recovered by now. There’s no way there could have been an accident.’

Gao Yuanfeng admitted that Chen Sheng was a formidable character.

Cunning and decisive, with outstanding strength—even his third brother Gao Yuanhe and his grand-uncle were no match for him. But in the end, the man was just a Foundation Establishment Martial Master.

In all his years, he had never heard of a Foundation Establishment Martial Master capable of defeating an Innate Powerhouse.

’I’m definitely overthinking things.’

Gao Yuanfeng kept telling himself this.

But as more time passed, a growing unease filled his heart, accompanied by a faint, ominous premonition.

"CLATTER..."

Suddenly, the sound of dense, orderly footsteps, like a sudden downpour, erupted from all directions, shattering the silence of the Gao ancestral home.

Gao Yuanfeng’s expression changed abruptly. Realizing something was wrong, he immediately shot to his feet, his hand instinctively resting on the hilt of the longsword at his waist as he stared toward the entrance of the main hall.

Torchlight flared up, illuminating the faces of soldiers clad in armor and armed to the teeth. The man at their head wore an official’s robe, his expression serene. Who else could it be but Wu Kuang, the County Captain of Changshan?