「Huangque Valley. Evening, July 28th.」

Huangque Valley was located 1,200 li northwest of the Li Huo Sect.

This place had once been occupied by a Qi Refining family who lived quite comfortably, thanks to a hidden Tier One Spirit Vein in the valley.

But later, internal strife led to the secret being leaked, which immediately triggered a chaotic battle.

Then, several Tribulation Cultivators at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Stage appeared out of nowhere and ransacked Huangque Valley clean.

By the time an Elder from the Li Huo Sect arrived, all he found was the bloody scene of the family’s annihilation and the Spirit Vein, which was impossible to move.

Thus, this ownerless Spirit Vein came to belong to the Li Huo Sect.

As this Spirit Vein was not very large, it could only produce a little over 1,300 Spirit Stones per year.

The Li Huo Sect stationed only a single Foundation Establishment Cultivator here, giving them full authority over mining the Spirit Vein and excavating Spirit Stones. All they had to do was hand over one thousand Spirit Stones to the sect each year.

This profit margin had, of course, been carefully calculated.

Although ambitious Foundation Establishment Cultivators might look down on this pittance, there were always some who didn’t mind, preferring such an easy and stable source of income.

After all, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator didn’t need to do the mining themselves. They could spend most of their days cultivating, only needing to occasionally check on the disciples under their command.

The person currently in charge of overseeing Huangque Valley was a clansman from a branch of the Su Family—Su Dechang.

"My lord, when are you going to take me back to South Lake?"

In the main courtyard of Huangque Valley, a devastatingly charming female cultivator sat in Su Dechang’s lap.

On the stone table before them sat a spread of twenty-eight extravagant dishes.

But the two were too busy amusing themselves to even touch the food.

Su Dechang chuckled as his hands roamed over her snowy-white skin. "Don’t worry. In another six months, I’ll have saved up enough money to buy a Spirit Pill."

"When that time comes, I’ll break through to the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment. Then I can take you back with me openly, without having to worry about people gossiping behind our backs."

"Who knows, if Elder Su is pleased, I might even be able to take you to meet him."

As the two were laughing and joking, a dark wind suddenly kicked up outside.

The gale swept through, sending branches and loose stones CLATTERING AND CRASHING everywhere. The flowers, plants, windows, and roof tiles were all smashed to smithereens.

Startled by the sudden disturbance, Su Dechang froze for a moment.

For one, he had been in Huangque Valley for almost ten years and had never seen a wind this strong.

It had appeared without any warning whatsoever.

For another, accustomed to years of drinking and debauchery, he had long since lost his vigilance. Since he didn’t sense any fluctuations of Spiritual Power, he failed to recognize the danger in time.

By the time he belatedly realized the protective Array outside his courtyard hadn’t activated, a ray of blood-red light had already burst through the gate and pierced straight through his chest.

"SPURT!"

Su Dechang spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his eyes wide. "There were no fluctuations from any Magic... How can this be?"

"WHOOSH!"

The blood-red light reversed its course, pierced through his abdomen, and killed the female cultivator in the process.

It then traced a semicircle through the air and landed in the hands of an old man outside Huangque Valley.

"See? I didn’t lie to you, did I?"

Beside him, another man, his face masked, laughed. "So much for the Renowned and Righteous Sects. They’re nothing but a bunch of useless gluttons."

"Your only failing, compared to them, is that you weren’t born into the right family."

"Why is it that these degenerates get to control the Spirit Veins and enjoy all sorts of cultivation resources, while you have to work yourself to the bone just to get by?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Go on. Take back what should have been yours all along."

The old man stared at the blood-stained Flying Shuttle in his hand as a hint of madness slowly crept into his eyes.

"That’s right. I’m just taking back what’s mine."

Within Huangque Valley, blood-red light filled the sky, and screams echoed without end.

The slaughter spread from the footpaths to the very depths of the Spirit Vein. All the Li Huo Sect disciples responsible for mining and all the hired Loose Cultivator laborers were brutally murdered. Not a single one survived.

To prevent any news from leaking out, the seven mortal villages within a thirty-li radius of Huangque Valley were also completely slaughtered.

The masked man led the old man into Su Dechang’s main courtyard.

He then found the Light Stone used to contact the Li Huo Sect. "Remember the method I taught you. Inject a stream of Magical Power at 7:00 AM, Noon, and 5:00 PM every day. That will maintain normal communications."

"I have to go save more of our brethren. You will stay here and digest the blood-food."

"Let’s set a date: the tenth day of the tenth month. I’ll be waiting for you at South Lake. We should go and attend that Spirit Fish Banquet, too."

...

"You’re saying the Light Stone lit up three times?"

Xiao Chen stood inside the sect’s Observatory Hall and asked with curiosity, "Is there a problem with that? Doesn’t the sect manual require three check-ins per day?"

The manager on duty at the Observatory Hall glanced around.

After confirming that only Xiao Chen and his trusted disciple were present, he explained, "This particular Light Stone corresponds to the Huangque Valley Spirit Vein."

"The one in charge there now is Elder Su’s own nephew."

"That fellow has never once been on time, especially for the morning check-in. But the day before yesterday, and again yesterday, he checked in all three times, and every single one was perfectly on schedule."

Xiao Chen was left a little speechless. ’Seriously?’

"So... it just feels wrong. You think something’s happened to him?"

The manager’s face was grim. "At first, I was only suspicious. But I asked a friend to check it out, and the people in the villages near Huangque Valley... they’ve all vanished."

"My friend also guessed something bad had happened, but he was afraid of startling the snake in the grass, so he didn’t dare enter the valley to investigate further."

’Even though Su Dechang was spoiled, he was still a genuine second-layer Foundation Establishment Cultivator.’

’A Demon Cultivator at the Qi Refining Stage wouldn’t have stood a chance against him, so it must have been a Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator who made the move.’

Xiao Chen mulled over the logic. ’The reasoning is a bit strange, but it does make sense.’