A small hill on Shenfu Mountain.

This place was not within the bounds of Shenfu Mountain’s Thirteen Peaks, as it remained almost entirely untrodden throughout the year.

Suddenly, two figures appeared at the mountain’s peak like ghosts.

To be precise, one person was carrying the other.

"Ugh..."

Murong Tian was thrown harshly to the ground, letting out a muffled groan.

His already frail body could barely withstand the abuse, and he struggled to raise his head to look at the old Daoist beside him.

Master Longevity rubbed his hands together excitedly, as if possessed.

"The Divine Mansion..."

Longevity Palace had stood in Ling Province for a thousand years. Naturally, it had no shortage of methods, including an extremely unique sensing technique.

Legend said that the old ancestor of the Daoist Sect, Chen Tuan, had created a dream-entering sensing technique, which was actually similar to the divination arts of the augury schools, just with different methods.

And it was because the Founding Ancestor of Longevity Palace had obtained the Dream-Entering Technique that he converted to the Daoist Sect.

However, the Dream-Entering Technique was extremely difficult to learn. Only Sensing Powerhouses were qualified to even begin, so very few people knew of this Cultivation Technique.

The reason Master Longevity had deduced the location of this small hill was precisely because he had used the Dream-Entering Technique.

But he had also suffered a huge backlash as a result, which was why he had hidden away in Longevity Palace to recuperate.

As soon as he recovered his strength, he was crippled by Dong Wanjun.

But compared to the Divine Mansion, none of that mattered.

Master Longevity looked toward Murong Tian.

Lu Xiao had once said that Murong Tian was the key to opening the Divine Mansion.

Although Lu Xiao was now dead, Master Longevity had already found the method Lu Xiao had spoken of.

A blood sacrifice!

The Murong Family’s ancestor must have obtained some heaven-defying inheritance from the Divine Mansion, to the extent that the bloodlines of all his descendants were affected.

And only the blood of the strongest Murong Clan Member of that generation was qualified to open the Divine Mansion.

Faced with this crisis, Murong Tian once again revealed his tyrannical nature, showing not the slightest hint of panic.

He had known about the blood sacrifice to open the Divine Mansion ever since the day Lu Xiao and Master Longevity had tried to kill him. He was just curious who had spread this rumor in the first place.

"Why are you so certain my blood can open the Divine Mansion?"

Master Longevity gradually calmed down.

"A great figure in the imperial court came to this conclusion after observing the stars."

"..."

Murong Tian fell silent.

’Without a doubt, that great figure must be from the Astronomical Bureau.’

In his later years, Grand Ancestor Emperor Xuanyang became a firm believer in the Stargazing Technique, so he put great effort into establishing the Astronomical Bureau.

The sole task of this Astronomical Bureau was to observe the celestial phenomena and divine good and bad fortune for the Imperial Dynasty.

Because of those ethereal, distant stars, Xuan Yang had seen its share of absurdities. Rumors like an imperial consort disrupting the court or a General secretly harboring rebellious intentions all came from the Astronomical Bureau.

Even the recall of the Grand General of the North, Xu Dingchun, to the Capital City was related to that gang of old Daoists from the Astronomical Bureau.

Of course, the Astronomical Bureau wasn’t entirely composed of charlatan Jianghu Sorcerers; otherwise, the Xuanyang Dynasty would have abolished it long ago.

Some of their predictions were quite accurate.

Take the great drought fifty years ago, for example. If the Astronomical Bureau hadn’t predicted it in advance, Xuan Yang would have suffered a grievous blow.

"Could it be that the Divine Mansion really exists?"

For the first time, Murong Tian wavered.

’The words of the Astronomical Bureau are, after all, quite convincing.’

Master Longevity said, "Meng Ruo Sect Master, I promise you, Longevity Palace will protect the Divine Mansion Sect for fifty years."

He was merely afraid of death, not a madman who enjoyed slaughter.

Killing for his own selfish desires already went against the core principles of his lineage, which was why he made this promise, even though such pity was the cheapest of all.

Master Longevity, of course, saw the mockery in Murong Tian’s eyes, but it didn’t stop the duster in his hand from falling.

As long as Murong Tian’s blood stained this patch of land, the blood sacrifice would begin.

Just then—

A silver needle, almost invisible to the naked eye, shot silently toward the spot between Master Longevity’s eyebrows.

An ordinary Entering Martial Artist wouldn’t have even been able to detect this attack.

But a Sensing Powerhouse’s perception was incredibly sharp, let alone that of Master Longevity, who was ranked second on the Heaven List and an expert among Sensing Powerhouses.

With a wave of his duster, Master Longevity easily swatted the flying needle away.

He squinted, looking at the young man before him.

’Bai Yuan...’

"A great omen of misfortune. So that’s what it was."

Bai Yuan stared warily at Master Longevity.

Ever since divining an ill omen, he had secretly returned to the Divine Mansion Sect and had been observing from the shadows.

It wasn’t until he saw Master Longevity take Murong Tian that he understood what the divination had meant.

’The Astronomical Bureau...’

’I never expected the Divine Mansion to be connected to that mysterious organization in the Capital City.’

Master Longevity was gradually losing patience. Not even Bai Yuan could stop him from opening the Divine Mansion.

"Then you can die together!"

His transcendent, immortal-like features twisted into a snarl. Right now, all he wanted was to open the Divine Mansion and find a way to extend his life and live into a third lifetime.

A flash of sword light glinted from within the duster. In an instant, the duster in Master Longevity’s hand transformed into a long sword, and he lunged toward Bai Yuan.

With his long saber in hand, Bai Yuan did not choose to meet him head-on.

He pushed his Night Wanderer Step to its limit, weaving and skirmishing with Master Longevity.

Master Longevity truly lived up to his name as the second-strongest expert on the Heaven List. Even after being severely wounded by Old Dong, his strength could not be underestimated, and he was still a fraction faster than Bai Yuan.

Master Longevity relentlessly hunted Bai Yuan, wanting only to slay the young sect leader before him as quickly as possible.

But gradually, he realized something was wrong.

The rate at which the energy in his body was draining was constantly accelerating. He hadn’t noticed it at first, but as time dragged on, the feeling became more and more obvious.

’Poison!’

Master Longevity had lived for over a hundred years. His perception was sharp, and he quickly understood that Bai Yuan was secretly poisoning him.

Horror seized him.

Even with his worldly experience, he had to admit that Bai Yuan’s poisoning methods were exceptionally brilliant, capable of even fooling a Sensing Powerhouse.

Such poisoning skills were superior even to those of the old poison masters in the Northern Territory.

Bai Yuan circled Master Longevity coldly.

This poison was the new Cyan Jade Poison he had just refined, and Master Longevity was his first test subject.

’It seems to be working quite well.’

He rarely struck with his saber, because he was accumulating his saber intent.

Once Master Longevity’s energy was depleted to a critical point, he could initiate the kill.

’Against Master Longevity at his peak, I would be no match, of course.’

’But now, with Master Longevity severely injured by Old Dong and at his weakest, I have a chance.’

’A peak-level Sensing Powerhouse... How many enhancement points would he be worth?’

Bai Yuan’s heart began to stir with excitement.

Naturally, Master Longevity would not just sit there and wait for death.

The Longevity Palace’s number one divine technique, the Longevity Scripture, circulated frantically within him, forcefully counteracting the effects of the Cyan Jade Poison.

"You little bastard, you’re courting death!"

Perhaps due to the influence of the Cyan Jade Poison, Master Longevity finally lost his composure, growing more irritable and attacking with increasing speed.

Master Longevity was now truly enraged, unleashing the full might of his hundred years of mastery in the Longevity Scripture. If not for his injuries, his power would have been even more terrifying.

But just as Master Longevity was about to unleash his divine might, Bai Yuan suddenly took a blow from the sword without warning and explosively retreated.

"Trying to run?"

A cruel smile spread across Master Longevity’s face as three sword strikes, like streaks of light, stabbed at Bai Yuan’s vital points almost simultaneously.

At that moment—

The hill beneath their feet began to shake violently.

"An Earth Dragon turning over?"

Master Longevity looked around at the leaves rustling down, and his sword attack faltered for a moment.

But surprisingly, apart from this one hill, the other peaks of Shenfu Mountain showed no reaction whatsoever.

His eyes lit up.

’The Divine Mansion!’

’Such a miraculous worldly phenomenon could, of course, only be caused by the legendary Divine Mansion.’

Just as the thought arose, a bloody maw large enough to swallow a person abruptly burst from the ground.

Master Longevity’s pupils shrank. The powerful demonic aura was almost suffocating.

’A Tier Eight Great Demon!’

’Even I am no match for a Tier Eight Great Demon.’

Master Longevity reacted with extreme speed. The instant before the bloody maw snapped shut, his figure flashed to the side like lightning.

Unfortunately, the Tier Eight Great Demon was faster, and it bit down on Master Longevity’s legs.

With a sickening CRUNCH of bone and sinew, everything below Master Longevity’s knees simply vanished.

Even the second-ranked expert on Ling Province’s Heaven List was this fragile before a Tier Eight Great Demon.

Fortunately, he had at least saved his own life.

Having landed its strike, the Great Demon vanished back into the ground like a great whale disappearing into the sea.

Intense pain beaded Master Longevity’s forehead with sweat. Catching sight of the unharmed Bai Yuan and Murong Tian in his peripheral vision, he was shocked.

’Why didn’t the Great Demon attack them?’

But soon, there was no more time to think.

It wasn’t the Great Demon that was chasing him, but Bai Yuan, who was charging at him with a cold expression, saber in hand.

A brilliant flash of saber light bloomed under the moonlight.

River-Sunder!

The current Master Longevity was covered in openings; it was nearly impossible for him to dodge Bai Yuan’s judgment skill.

Master Longevity’s pupils dilated in an instant, his life force scattering under the force of that slash.

He never could have imagined that he would die at the hands of a young man barely in his twenties.

’I refuse to accept this...’

He originally had several more decades to live, but now his life had been cut short.

Thus fell a generation’s Longevity Palace Master.

Enhancement Points +3034

That was a strike Bai Yuan had to deliver.

At the same time, he hoisted Murong Tian over his shoulder and sprinted down the mountain.

His Demon Hunter abilities had saved his life.

While fighting Master Longevity, he had sensed the Raccoon Demon stirring, which is why he had decisively pulled back.

Bai Yuan had long known of the Raccoon Demon’s existence and had naturally prepared for it.

That preparation was the Dragon Saliva Grass hidden in his robes.

Legend had it that Dragon Saliva Grass was a small plant licked by an Ancient Divine Dragon.

Dragons are the lords of all beasts, so they have an excellent deterrent effect on ancient, exotic beasts. This, of course, was all knowledge from the Ten Thousand Demons Painting.

’Knowledge changes destiny. The ancients truly did not deceive me!’

An incense stick’s time later, Bai Yuan and Murong Tian finally reached the foot of the hill.

He looked back at the small hill with lingering fear.

The power of that Raccoon Demon far exceeded his expectations.

Master Longevity was an upper-tier Sensing Powerhouse, yet he couldn’t even withstand a single clash with the Great Demon. One could only imagine its true power.

Bai Yuan was glad he was a Demon Hunter; otherwise, he never would have escaped today’s calamity.

’Old Dong was right after all. It’s always useful to learn a few extra skills.’

Murong Tian also stared at the small hill, his face a mask of horror.

As the former Sect Leader of the Divine Mansion Sect, he had presided over Shenfu Mountain for decades, yet he had never heard of such a powerful demon hiding in the mountain.

’Judging by Bai Yuan’s reaction, he clearly knew about the Great Demon’s existence all along.’

’I’m starting to find I can’t see through this new Sect Leader who has taken my place.’

A sense of relief and gratification washed over Murong Tian.

’The revival of the Divine Mansion Sect is in sight!’