'I have to wait a few more days?'

'That won't do!'

The Mystic Path Sect had only just been established. Although he had left its affairs in Wen Yin's hands...

...with Wen Yin's Cultivation Level, if something unexpected were to happen, Yang An didn't want to see the newly founded Mystic Path Sect collapse in the blink of an eye.

Perhaps no one would notice the Mystic Path Sect for a short while, but that might not be the case for long.

Without the Golden Thread Sect Seal, the Mystic Path Sect would not be recognized. It could be taken over by other powerful Cultivators at any moment, repeating the tragedy of the Jade Flesh Sect.

"Fellow Daoist, when will the State Lord return?"

Yang An asked immediately.

"It's hard to say. Ten days at the soonest, a month at the latest. In any case, the State Lord will definitely be back within a month."

The man with the black and white head replied. Now that he knew Yang An's identity and origin, he dropped his earlier defensiveness.

"Must the State Lord be present for me to receive the Golden Thread Sect Seal?"

Yang An was confused.

"The Golden Thread Sect Seal is a crucial symbol of our Golden Thread Sect. Since you have chosen to submit to us, you naturally need our approval. Not just any riff-raff can become a vassal force of the Golden Thread Sect."

The man with the black and white head said haughtily.

Although he was just a subordinate of the State Lord, stationed here in Jinzhu City...

...when dealing with these vassal forces, he was still a big shot, so his attitude was naturally condescending.

Despite Yang An having the same Cultivation Level as him, he didn't give Yang An a second thought.

This was the status that came with being part of the Treasure Temple Domain's Overlord Level power.

Offending him was the same as offending the entire Golden Thread Sect, and no one dared to do that.

'This is getting a little tricky...'

Hearing the words of the man with the black and white head, Yang An fell into thought.

If he returned to the Mystic Path Sect now, there was no telling when the Zichuan State's State Lord would be back.

As long as he didn't have the Golden Thread Sect Seal, the Mystic Path Sect would remain an unrecognized, rogue faction, likely attracting all sorts of trouble and prying eyes.

He couldn't just run to Jinzhu City every day, waiting for someone to return and wasting his own time.

If he stayed here, it would be the same; he would be completely stuck in a passive situation.

Yang An was growing to hate being passive.

'Being passive means unexpected things can happen, things that will work against me.'

'No matter what I do, I must seize the initiative!'

After going through so much trouble to get rid of that old bastard, he had no desire to be constrained by others at every turn.

He thought for a moment, then immediately looked up and said to the man with the black and white head:

"Fellow Daoist, why don't you tell me the State Lord's whereabouts? I will go find him myself. What do you say?"

This seemed to be the most suitable solution. Since the man wasn't here, he would go find him.

As long as he could find the State Lord of Zichuan State as soon as possible, he could get the Golden Thread Sect Seal sooner, return to the Mystic Path Sect sooner, and ensure nothing happened to it.

"Are you sure you want to go?"

Hearing Yang An's words, the man with the black and white head just grinned.

There was no other way. Yang An nodded.

"The State Lord went to Celestial Jing State. There's a demon fiend disaster raging there right now. The Corpse Transformation Demon Fiends are innumerable, and Zombie God Demon Fiends have gathered there as well. If you go, you might not come back."

'A demon fiend disaster?'

'So that's a thing?'

It was the first time Yang An had ever encountered something like this.

The meaning of the man with the black and white head was simple: a massive number of Demon Fiends were rampaging through Celestial Jing State, which had become a place of great danger.

"Do you dare to go?"

The man with the black and white head asked doubtfully.

The demon fiend disaster in Celestial Jing State had been raging for over ten days, causing widespread devastation. The State Lord had gone to support Celestial Jing State in its defense against the Demon Fiends.

After all, Celestial Jing State was adjacent to Zichuan State. If something happened to Celestial Jing State, Zichuan State would be next. If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.

"Why wouldn't I dare!"

Yang An felt no fear.

'Demon Fiends?'

'Aren't all my Techniques designed specifically to deal with Demon Fiends?'

Besides, if it was a demon fiend disaster, that meant there had to be a huge number of Demon Fiends.

To revive the Earth Spirit Stele, he needed not only a Forbidden Artifact Fragment but also a massive amount of living flesh and blood.

'Isn't the flesh and blood of Demon Fiends just perfect for that?'

He had been worrying about where to find flesh and blood. This was a golden opportunity.

Even if it wasn't to find the State Lord and get the Golden Thread Sect Seal, he would have to go just from hearing about the demon fiend disaster.

And, for some strange reason, he even felt a little excited...

The man with the black and white head gave Yang An a strange look and frowned.

Yang An's reaction was completely different from what he had imagined.

He originally thought Yang An would be scared after hearing about the demon fiend disaster. After all, it wasn't just a simple group of Evil Demons that could be called a "disaster."

What was a demon fiend disaster?

A demon fiend disaster was an army formed by countless Evil Demons, numbering in the tens of thousands.

Just hearing that there were large numbers of Corpse Transformation Realm Demon Fiends was enough to keep even him from daring to go, or even get close, to say nothing of the innumerable Zombie God Realm Demon Fiends among them.

Just hearing about a large number of Zombie God Realm Demon Fiends was enough to make one's blood run cold.

Yet Yang An's expression didn't change at all. And it seemed... why did he look a little excited?

'Who gets excited hearing about swarms of Great Demon Fiends?'

'A madman!'

There were all sorts of people among Cultivators, and no shortage of madmen. So, after cursing inwardly, the man with the black and white head couldn't be bothered with it.

"Don't blame me for not warning you. I've seen people like you before, but they all end up dead, their Dao vanishing, reduced to dry bones in a grave."

"Understood!"

Yang An's reply was concise. "Please tell me the State Lord's specific location, Fellow Daoist."

"Celestial Jing State, Ten Directions City."

The man with the black and white head tossed out this sentence and left without a backward glance.

In his eyes, an overconfident fool like this was most likely going to end up dead anyway, so he couldn't be bothered to say more.

Having gotten the State Lord's location, Yang An immediately asked the Bow Lady for the specific location and direction.

He learned that Celestial Jing State was adjacent to Zichuan State, and Ten Directions City was to the north, about 1,400 li away.

Without stopping to rest, Yang An headed in the direction the Bow Lady had indicated.

...

Night fell. Not long after the sky darkened, Yang An entered the territory of Celestial Jing State. He was still more than 300 li from Ten Directions City.

However, not long after entering Celestial Jing State, Yang An keenly sensed a number of pungent odors filling the air.

Most of it was the stench of blood, mixed with foul, sour, and various other nauseating smells.

The entire Celestial Jing State seemed to have become a septic tank for dumping corpses.

And within a radius of several li, Yang An's perception only picked up a few faint life auras; almost everything was a Demon Fiend.

The aura of a Demon Fiend was very distinct.

It was filled with filth and a thick stench, as obvious as a shadow under a lamp.

Compared to Demon Fiends, the aura of a Cultivator was similar, but not nearly as dense.

As for ordinary living beings, they appeared in his perception more like a colorless fog, or perhaps a ball of qi would be a more fitting description.

When Yang An detected the presence of these Demon Fiends in his perception, although there weren't many, it was just the right amount.

A thought immediately popped into his head—time to start killing!

After all, even a mosquito is still meat. They were Demon Fiends, which meant they were also flesh and blood.

HISS—CRACKLE—

Yang An clapped his hands together, and a crackling sound erupted between them. Red lightning suddenly danced over his hands, exceptionally conspicuous in the dim light.

First, he would test the power of the Sacrificial Dao Yin Thunder. He was very interested in the combination of Thunder Techniques and Light Magic.

Soon, Yang An's figure turned into a black shadow, melting into the night as he flew forward.

In the distance was a small village, where a group of bizarrely shaped creatures seemed to be searching for something in the darkness, wandering through the streets.

These things were not quite human, not quite ghost, but more like conglomerations of countless twisted or fused limbs and flesh.

From time to time, miserable howls echoed from the village, only to quickly disappear.

A group of Demon Fiends heard the sound and immediately sped off in the direction it came from.

But just then.

In the dark of the night, countless bolts of red lightning suddenly fell from high above.

Like sharp spears, they fell with the speed of a thunderclap that leaves no time to cover one's ears, instantly striking the dozen or so Demon Fiends below.

The red light flickered and vanished, and only then did the crackling sound follow.

But the dozen-plus Demon Fiends struck by the lightning had already been pierced through, turning into piles of black ash that scattered on the ground.

Yang An descended from above, landing softly on the ground.

With his current Cultivation Level at the Middle Stage of Corpse Transformation, even when using the Sacrificial Dao Yin Thunder he had just mastered, instantly killing over a dozen Visceral Stone Realm Demon Fiends didn't really show off the technique's true power.

It was no exaggeration to say that among all the Techniques and offensive methods he had mastered, aside from the two utility Techniques—the Dark Communication Secret Spell and the Treasure Light Glaze Purification Technique—any one of them could achieve this effect.

The Visceral Stone Realm had once seemed like a Great Power to him, but now, in his eyes, they were nothing more than small fry.

'It seems I'll have to find some more powerful Demon Fiends to test it on to get a satisfying result.'

'And...'

Yang An suddenly frowned.

He needed a large amount of flesh and blood to revive the Earth Spirit Stele and purify the cost of using it.

'If I turn these things to ash in an instant, how am I supposed to collect their flesh and blood?'

'This doesn't align with my goal at all! It's completely counterproductive.'

He thought about all the methods at his disposal. It seemed he really didn't have many attacks that could leave a Demon Fiend's flesh and blood intact.

'Dammit!'

Obliterating his enemies to dust was what he was best at.

Now, having to leave their flesh and blood intact was actually proving to be a challenge.

After thinking for a moment, Yang An came up with a good idea.

'I could use the Dark Communication Secret Spell to immobilize the Demon Fiends first, then use the Buddha's Radiant Wheel or the Great Brightness Buddha Golden Zen Spell to carefully cut up their bodies. That might work!'

If he still couldn't control his power that way, then his only option would be to use the Extreme Day Divine Aspect or the Spinal True Feather to clash with and tear them apart directly.

'Thinking about it this way feels a bit restrictive, but if I want to obtain flesh and blood, I have no choice but to hold back.'

'This is the drawback of cultivating a whole bunch of Light Magic.'

'Leaving someone alive... the difficulty just skyrocketed.'

Yang An sighed helplessly in his heart.