In a small grove.

Fang Yun stopped and took a Lower Grade Spirit Revival Pill.

A Spirit Stone then appeared in his hand, and using both at once, he began to rapidly recover his depleted Spiritual Power.

If he needed to recover Spiritual Power during combat, he would prioritize using Upper-grade or Middle-grade Spirit Revival Pills.

By the time night fell, the Spiritual Power in Fang Yun’s Qi Sea was fully replenished.

’Time to act.’

With a thought, a black Magic Robe materialized around Fang Yun.

This black Magic Robe was a particularly unique Upper-grade Magical Artifact he had refined himself. It had two effects: concealment and stacking.

With both effects active, the robe’s concealment could be used in conjunction with his Half-Hidden Spirit Boots.

Since he couldn’t refine a perfect pair of Hidden Spirit Boots, Fang Yun had opted for this supplementary method.

Without the boost from his Combat Talent, the Magic Robe’s Spiritual Power drain was significant. Moreover, the actual stacked concealment effect wasn’t as good as the ideal Hidden Spirit Boots he had envisioned.

Under the night sky.

Cloaked in the black Magic Robe, Fang Yun entered Qingyao County, the territory of the Demon Gu Family, a Qi Refining Clan.

’An environment with a mix of Demon Qi and Spiritual Qi.’

As he approached the Gu Family’s core territory, Fang Yun could already feel the Demon Qi and Spiritual Qi.

Cultivating in such an environment would be extremely difficult for a typical Cultivator. When absorbing ambient Spiritual Qi to convert into personal Spiritual Power, they would first have to filter out the Demon Qi.

The denser the Demon Qi, the more troublesome the filtering process.

As he drew nearer to the heart of the Demon Gu Family’s territory, Fang Yun knew this would be the ultimate test of the stacked concealment from his Half-Hidden Spirit Boots and black Magic Robe.

No matter how good the concealment, there were always fluctuations in Spiritual Power.

Even if the fluctuations were almost nonexistent, they weren’t truly gone.

The Demon Gu Family’s core territory was bound to have Arrays in place. Detection Arrays, for instance, would always be active on at least a minimal setting.

The energy from their Spirit Vein and Demon Vein—both Spiritual Qi and Demon Qi—would be prioritized to power these Arrays.

"Who’s there!"

A voice, laced with both anger and confusion, echoed throughout the core of the Demon Gu Family’s territory.

Fang Yun knew he had been detected.

In that case, there was no longer any need for the black Magic Robe. It consumed too much Spiritual Power. He would, however, keep the Half-Hidden Spirit Boots fully active.

In the time between accepting the mission and leaving the sect, he had used the available information to game out several possible scenarios for its execution.

The best-case scenario involved using the dual concealment effects to infiltrate the Demon Gu Family, assassinate the Demons one by one without a sound, and return to the sect without a hitch.

Now that he was discovered, the best-case scenario was off the table. It was time to start killing.

Quickly stowing the black Magic Robe and putting on a black mask, Fang Yun vanished on the spot.

This black mask was another Upper-grade Magical Artifact. It had only a single function and consumed far less Spiritual Power than the robe. Furthermore, it drew on his Spiritual Power passively, requiring no active control.

Despite its single function, an Upper-grade Magical Artifact that yielded two hundred forty Talent Points upon creation was a testament to its value and the effort Fang Yun had poured into refining it.

"That’s Grand-uncle’s voice... An enemy has invaded!"

"A Spirit Refiner?"

"It has to be a Spirit Refiner! The Stone Demon Sect is currently clashing with the Shen Family, a Spirit Refiner Foundation Establishment Clan. At a critical time like this, if the Grey Lake Hua Family dared to make a move on us, the Stone Demon Sect would never forgive them."

"We need to hurry and prepare... Your head... I..."

Before the Gu Family Demon, a Qi Refining Fifth Layer, could finish his sentence, he saw his younger clan brother’s head tumble to the ground.

The world spun, and then his own head fell. His mouth gaped, uttering a final "I..."

In their last moments of consciousness, their low cultivation levels prevented them from even comprehending what had just happened.

Demons below the late Qi Refining stage were nothing more than grass to be mowed down by Fang Yun’s assault.

Fang Yun wasn’t concerned with collecting Storage Pouches or the proof of his kills just yet. His priority was to slaughter every Demon here first.

Having tasted the sweet reward of gaining Talent Points from combat, Fang Yun now saw these Demons as little more than data to be converted into more points.

Killing these Demons also served to indirectly weaken the Celestial Demon Sect.

When the Celestial Cloud Sect and the Celestial Demon Sect had been locked in all-out war, every faction, big or small, within their respective territories was forced to take part.

The Celestial Cloud Sect had suffered one defeat after another, only managing to recover thanks to reinforcements from the Purple Mist Sect.

"Uncle, what’s going on? Why can’t I sense the Spirit Refiner?" Gu Feihu asked, approaching the old Gu Family patriarch.

The old patriarch of the Demon Gu Family was, in fact, the clan’s previous patriarch.

At the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, he had long since retired from the forefront, residing year-round in the very heart of the Gu Family’s territory.

Right now, the old Gu patriarch was manipulating an Array Plate.

The Gu Family’s Grand Array was already active.

The Tier One, Upper-grade Wind Tiger Killing Array!

It served as a Defense Array against outsiders and a killing array for those within.

The Grand Array drew a continuous stream of power from the Demon Vein and Spirit Vein. As a Tier One, Upper-grade array, even an early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator would need a great deal of time to breach it by brute force.

"This Spirit Refiner is concealed and moving incredibly fast. I can’t get a lock on him at the moment," the old Gu patriarch explained, his hands flying across the Wind Tiger Killing Array as he answered Gu Feihu’s question.

The reason Gu Feihu couldn’t sense the Spirit Refiner was because of his concealment.

"What’s he playing at, staying hidden while moving so fast?"

Gu Feihu scratched his head, completely baffled by the Spirit Refiner’s behavior.

The next moment, Gu Feihu’s nose twitched.

The faint scent of blood!

After implanting a Demon Beast bloodline, most Demons possessed a sense of smell far keener than that of a normal Cultivator.

The scent of blood meant slaughter, yet he couldn’t sense the sounds of any major struggle elsewhere.

"Uncle, I’ll flush him out and pin him down. Then you can lock on and finish him."

"Alright!"

The old Gu patriarch nodded, his focus never leaving the Array Plate.

An Array Plate in the hands of a regular Cultivator was a completely different tool than in the hands of an Array Master. If the old Gu patriarch were a true Array Master, he would have locked onto the enemy in an instant, even under these circumstances.

Gu Feihu leaped up, landing on top of a building.

Since he couldn’t sense the Spirit Refiner, he had to resort to the most primitive method: using his eyes.

Gu Feihu channeled Demon Power to his eyes, scanning for any sign of movement. Someone moving that fast was bound to cause a disturbance.

Flying?

That was an ability reserved for the Foundation Establishment Stage. If a Spirit Refiner of that level had appeared, the old patriarch would have notified the Celestial Demon Sect at once.

Found him!

"You! Stop right there!"

The moment he spotted the Spirit Refiner, Gu Feihu let out a roar and broke into a sprint.

If it were daytime, the power of his family’s Sunset Tiger bloodline would make him even faster and stronger.

’This Spirit Refiner really picked his moment.’

Fang Yun noticed Gu Feihu and instantly changed course.

This Demon was his target.

The mission required him to kill Gu Feihu and bring back his head as proof of completion.

For Fang Yun, having the target deliver himself to his doorstep meant prioritizing the mission’s completion was the obvious choice.

"Spirit Refiner, what’s the point of suppressing your Spiritual Power fluctuations now? You’re just at the Qi Refining Tenth Layer, right? I’m not afraid of you! And with that shameful mask... hilarious! HAHAHA!"

Gu Feihu was trying to bait the Spirit Refiner into revealing himself so the Wind Tiger Killing Array could get a lock.

Suppressing one’s Spiritual Power fluctuations would certainly hamper their combat ability.

This was one of the sources of Gu Feihu’s confidence against a Qi Refining Tenth Layer Spirit Refiner.

Fang Yun didn’t say a word. When the distance was right, a pale yellow Yellow Iron Sword shot out from his Storage Pouch.

It slashed toward the Demon Gu Feihu with maximum velocity.

"Just an Upper-grade Magical Artifact..."

Gu Feihu reached out to grab it confidently, but the Yellow Iron Sword sliced through his hand and head in a single motion.

Mission complete!

He collected the Demon Gu Feihu’s head first and foremost.

"Fifth Brother!"

Patriarch Gu, witnessing this, was stunned. The Gu Family’s hope of becoming a Foundation Establishment Clan... snuffed out in a single strike?

"Call for help! Now!" the old patriarch controlling the Array Plate roared. Gu Feihu’s death had almost shattered his composure.

At this moment, the old Gu patriarch knew he had to maintain control of the Grand Array.

This Qi Refining Tenth Layer Spirit Refiner was extraordinarily powerful.

Without the threat of being locked onto by the Wind Tiger Killing Array, he would be able to unleash even greater power.

"Right!" Patriarch Gu reacted instantly.

He immediately sent a distress message to the Stone Demon Sect.

With the Spirit Refiner now coming for him, he had no time to type out a full message, managing only to send a simple distress signal.

Within the Demon Gu Family, Gu Feihu had been the second strongest. The current Patriarch Gu himself was only at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, ranking fifth in the clan in terms of combat strength.

Seeing Gu Feihu killed so effortlessly, the terrified Patriarch Gu had only one thought: get as far away from this Qi Refining Tenth Layer Spirit Refiner as possible.

However, the thought had barely formed before his head was separated from his body.

’A little too slow.’

He hadn’t managed to intercept the Demon’s distress signal.

Next, Fang Yun’s target was the Qi Refining Tenth Layer Gu Demon controlling the Grand Array.

"Just die!"

The old Gu patriarch’s eyes were bloodshot with fury. He spat out more than a dozen drops of his blood essence onto the Array Plate, putting everything on the line.

’I can’t let this go on. I have to lock onto this Qi Refining Tenth Layer Spirit Refiner.’

The Wind Tiger Killing Array finally locked onto Fang Yun.

Three powerful blasts of Wind Tiger energy shot toward him from three different directions.

Three Profound Iron Shields had already risen, blocking the attacks from three different directions.

"How is this possible!?"

The old Gu patriarch couldn’t believe his eyes. They weren’t three ultimate-grade defensive artifacts, just three Upper-grade ones, yet they had blocked a targeted strike from the Wind Tiger Killing Array.

Even more incredibly, the Spirit Refiner was advancing on him rapidly even while defending.

’Setting aside the defense with Upper-grade artifacts...’

’Is this really a Spirit Refiner?’

’When did Spirit Refiners become this formidable?’

’Aren’t we Demon Cultivators supposed to be the strongest?!’

Two pale yellow Long Swords flew forth. One struck down the Qi Refining Tenth Layer Gu Demon, while the other shattered the Array Plate.

Having exhausted his blood essence, the old Gu patriarch was powerless to resist Fang Yun’s strike.

Before he died, the final thought of the Demon Gu Family’s strongest member was:

’Someone from the Celestial Cloud Sect...?’

With the Array Plate destroyed, the Wind Tiger Killing Array ceased its targeting function.

For Fang Yun, with the Array no longer a threat, the rest would be simple cleanup.