A crimson sun was about to breach the horizon.
A line of gold streaked across the fertile plains at incredible speed. Wherever it passed, yin turned to yang, and night turned to day.
Figures soared into the sky from the Upper Purity Temple, cloaked in brilliant light, and shot off in all directions. Chen Qingyang and Liu Tao parted ways, each heading to a different location.
Her team had no one at the Essence Condensation Ninth Realm, only two at the Eighth Realm. ’This is a good sign,’ he thought. ’It means their destination poses no real threat; they might even just be going through the motions.’
As for Chen Qingyang’s group, the lineup was much more formidable.
One at the Ninth Realm, three at the Eighth Realm, and two at the Sixth Realm. Only Chen Qingyang and another junior brother were at the Second Realm. People naturally gravitate toward those with higher status, so throughout the journey, only the two of them could exchange a few words.
It was hard to say what Yao Jingzhi was plotting. He neither spoke much to Chen Qingyang nor paid him any mind, as if the past conflict between them had never happened.
They set out at dawn and didn’t descend into a mountain valley until dusk.
Even before they arrived, Chen Qingyang could smell an overpowering stench of blood.
Beside the main road was a small village. Several hundred acres of fertile fields had been carved out at the foot of the mountain, with dozens of courtyard homes built against its slope.
Over a dozen corpses hung from the large willow tree at the village entrance, swaying in the ghostly wind like pieces of wind-dried cured meat, every last drop of moisture wrung from them.
Chen Qingyang took a closer look. Though they were still flesh and blood, their faces were gaunt and their eye sockets sunken. Some were even twisted in agony, as if they had suffered immense pain before death.
Beneath the willow tree, dozens of skeletons were piled into a pyramid, like a small memorial of skulls. When he later investigated with his Conscious Fish, he found many more such piles.
The thick stench of blood emanated from this spot.
The woman who was close with Yao Jingzhi was named Jiang Muzhou. Everyone here called her Senior Sister Jiang. She extended a finger and shot a ray of golden light at the pile of skeletons. Instantly, the skulls turned to dust and scattered in the wind.
"This... this isn’t real bone. It must be an Array Building construct. It only took this form after all its Magical Power was drained!"
Another Eighth Realm senior brother responded, "Senior Sister Jiang, can you tell where this came from? Is this the work of the Yu Xiao Demon Sect?"
"It’s hard to say. The Yu Xiao Demon Sect’s methods are ever-changing; there are always techniques we haven’t seen before. Besides, the region under the jurisdiction of the Six Immortal Sects in Cyan Nether State has always been chaotic. It’s not like our territory, where we gather all the Spiritual Qi to maintain order. It’s also quite possible this was the work of a Wandering Cultivator from that area. Let’s keep looking."
"Yes, that’s a good idea."
Chen Qingyang’s words carried little weight, so he could only follow along. They circled around to another spot and found another one of those skull monuments, which also crumbled to dust when hit by the golden light. After inspecting nine such sites, they were finally done.
"I can confirm it now. This is an Array, and it was set up to target the villagers. It’s most likely a technique to harvest flesh and Yin Souls."
After she spoke, Jiang Muzhou looked at the group. "The Master instructed that this trip is mainly for training. Junior brothers, please take a walk through the village and see if you can discover anything. We’ll meet back here in one hour."
"Alright, we’ll follow Senior Sister’s arrangements."
As agreed, Jiang Muzhou was in charge of all matters here, large and small. She truly carried herself like the head senior sister.
Chen Qingyang thought, ’This is just a small mountain village, and the terrain isn’t complicated at all. Is it really necessary to have everyone spread out and wander around? Are they planning to make a move here?’
As he was pondering this, the group had already dispersed. Chen Qingyang started walking into the village alone, but he heard someone call out from behind him, "Senior Brother Chen, wait for me!"
He turned to see it was the other Essence Condensation Second Realm junior brother. It was hard to say whose Cultivation was higher, but the man insisted on calling him Senior Brother Chen, so Chen Qingyang just let him.
The man looked to be about thirty. He was tall, thin, and had a frail, scholarly appearance, with a sparse mustache on either side of his mouth. He looked less like an Immortal Cultivator and more like a long-suffering scholar. When he smiled, deep wrinkles would form on his forehead.
"Senior Brother, our Cultivation is the lowest, and the others all look down on us. Why don’t we stick together? This place is full of ghostly winds... it’s pretty creepy!"
Seeing him act so genuinely afraid, Chen Qingyang found it not only strange but also a little amusing.
’Everyone here has a lifespan of at least a hundred years. If they were back in the Red Dust, what wouldn’t they have seen? How could he say something like that?’
Chen Qingyang glanced back and saw the senior brother and sister standing where they were. It didn’t look like they were planning to move against him. So he nodded. "Alright, let’s stick together."
Upon entering the village, the stench of blood grew even stronger. There wasn’t a single person in the alleyways. Aside from the corpses hanging from the tree, it was as if all the villagers had vanished overnight.
This junior brother’s name was Zhang Tong. He spoke again, "Senior Brother Chen, why can’t we see a single person? It’s so strange. I have a feeling this is an Array deliberately set up by Demons from a Demon Sect to deal with us."
Chen Qingyang grew curious about him. "Junior Brother, may I ask what technique you cultivate, and which peak are you from?"
"Hehe." Zhang Tong gave an embarrassed laugh, seeming to understand what Chen Qingyang was getting at. "You must think I’m a joke, Senior Brother. I cultivate the Cloud Thunder Talismanic Technique. On a normal day, I only ever deal with Cinnabar, Jade Tokens, and the like. I’ve never seen a dead person before, and I’m a total shut-in. If it weren’t for the Sect’s orders, I never would have come down the mountain. So, well..."
Chen Qingyang nodded lightly. "I understand. But there are some things a junior brother must experience eventually."