76: Chapter 76 A Golden Core Demon Appears! The Deadly Situation Behind the Bloodbath!

[You stand in the center of a mess of ruins.]

[Rubble and dust are still rustling down; the secret chamber that was once indestructible has become wasteland.]

[You forcibly suppress the violence that is almost bursting out of your body.]

[You bend down and pick up the transmission jade slip, already covered in cracks, from the pile of rubble. With a slight force of your fingertips, the jade slip turns into powder.]

[You turn around and step out of the ruins without looking back.]

The light screen scrolls silently.

[Age 49, June 15th.]

[Early morning.]

[You take Shen Tian and travel north on your sword.]

[The jinhong sword beneath your feet is no longer light; it carries only heavy killing intent.]

[Sixteen-year-old Shen Tian is traveling far on a sword for the first time. He only dares to shrink behind you, not daring to take a single loud breath. He has never seen you with such an icy expression.]

[Tianxuan Sect Mountain Gate.]

[Soaring white banners obscure the sun, and the wind whips the white cloth into a flapping sound.]

[The disciple guarding the mountain leans against the gate's stone tablet with hollow eyes. He mechanically checks your token and squeezes out a few words: "Mr. Shen... the Perfected One is at the Fire Cloud Hall..."]

["Dad, the sect is..." Shen Tian grips the sword hilt tightly, his voice trembling.]

[You do not answer.]

["Keep close."]

[Fire Cloud Hall, Council Chamber.]

[You have been here before.]

[In your memory, the hall was filled with red silk and festive fire. Huo Quji held his newborn son, his laughter shaking the heavens.]

[Now, there is only eye-piercing white.]

[The festive wine tables are gone, replaced by a shiny black coffin in the very center of the hall.]

[Perfected Chiyang stands before the coffin. After not seeing him for a few days, this Nascent Soul powerhouse appears much older, his upright back now hunched. His dark red Daoist robe is covered in long-dried, blackened bloodstains.]

[You walk over step by step. In the entire hall, only the sound of your heavy footsteps echoes.]

[Your hand rests on the edge of the coffin lid. You pause for a moment, then push the lid open.]

[Inside is Huo Quji.]

[His face has been wiped clean.]

[But a wound splits him from his left shoulder down to his right abdomen, dividing his entire body in two.]

[Thud!]

[Shen Tian's legs give way, and he falls heavily to his knees. Tears roll down his cheeks as he sobs softly: "Uncle... Uncle Huo..."]

[You just watch.]

[The honest man who patted his chest three years ago and shouted, "Brother Shen, don't worry," has become this corpse before your eyes.]

[After a long time, you reach out to help straighten his collar, but your fingertips touch stiff, cold skin.]

[You quickly withdraw your hand.]

[You slide the coffin lid shut.]

[It makes a dull thudding sound.]

["Senior," you turn to Perfected Chiyang, "the wound."]

[Perfected Chiyang's bloodshot eyes move, and he hands over a jade slip: "Killed in one blow. The opponent's cultivation was far above his. You'll understand once you see the sinister poisonous spiritual power remaining in the wound."]

[You probe in with your divine sense.]

[The wound's surface is purple-black. Within the severed meridians, countless tiny insect eggs, barely visible to the naked eye, are still slightly squirming.]

["Was there anything unusual before he was killed?" You return the jade slip to him.]

[Perfected Chiyang falls silent.]

["His temperament changed drastically in the last six months." He frowns. "He used to be straightforward, but later he became deep and his methods grew ruthless. I only thought he had matured, but now it seems that wasn't it..."]

[Sudden personality change, sinister techniques, insect eggs in the wound.]

[This isn't a revenge killing.]

[It's infiltration; it's silencing!]

["To be able to kill him within the Tianxuan Sect without a sound..."]

["It's an inside job." Perfected Chiyang interrupts you, his tone weary. "For a Nascent Soul powerhouse to thoroughly investigate the sect would cause too much of a stir. I cannot act rashly."]

["I'll go check his residence."]

["Zhou Qi, take Mr. Shen there."]

[You turn and press your hand on Shen Tian's back: "Kowtow to your Grandmaster."]

[Shen Tian wipes away his tears and kowtows heavily three times to Perfected Chiyang: "Junior Shen Tian greets Grandmaster Chiyang."]

["Good child, stand up." Perfected Chiyang looks at him with a complex expression. "Your father's child will not be lacking."]

[Residence of the Vice Hall Master of Fire Cloud Hall.]

[In the courtyard, Gu Yunxi sits on the threshold, clutching six-year-old Huo Yunjia tightly in her arms. Her eyes are hollow, and there isn't a single tear on her face.]

["Sister-in-law."]

[She looks up, her lips moving, but she cannot make a sound.]

[Huo Yunjia lifts his small face: "Uncle Shen, they all say my dad went on a long trip. Is it true?"]

[You crouch down and pat his head.]

["Yes, your dad went to a very far place, and it will be a long, long time before he can come back."]

[You take out a specially made transmission jade slip and press it into Gu Yunxi's cold hand.]

["Sister-in-law, if anything happens in the future, crush this. Or, go directly to Yunzhou to find Liu Qingqing."]

[Gu Yunxi's hands begin to tremble violently, and she finally forces out a voice: "Was he... murdered?"]

["Yes."]

[You stand up, your hand resting on the hilt of the jinhong sword at your waist.]

[The sword blade gives a soft hum.]

[Your voice is not loud, but it clearly spreads throughout the entire courtyard.]

["Sister-in-law, take good care of Yunjia."]

["As for the rest of them, I will kill them."]

[After leaving the Tianxuan Sect, you both check into an inn at the foot of the mountain.]

["Dad," Shen Tian looks out the window and suddenly asks, "Uncle Huo was at the late stage of Foundation Establishment and so powerful, how could he..."]

[You pour him a cup of tea: "In this world, no one is unkillable. Even Nascent Souls can fall."]

[Shen Tian grips the teacup tightly, his knuckles turning white: "I don't want to die."]

["Then practice the sword," you look into his eyes and say each word deliberately, "practice until no one can kill you, practice until you can kill anyone who wants to kill you."]

[You suddenly remember that flying letter from an unknown source many years ago.]

[Was the person who gave you the tip helping you?]

[Or... were they using Huo Quji's death to test your reaction, your strength, and your resolve?]

[If it's the latter, then this person is far more terrifying than the Xuanyin Valley.]

[But that clue is too distant.]

[For now, there is only one lead to follow.]

[Xuanyin Valley.]

[That pale-faced poison cultivator.]

[As well as the water-attribute spiritual power mark you silently left on him back then.]

[——]

[Age 49, July.]

[You unequip "Domestic Peace" from your equipment slot and replace it with the white trait "Greased Soles".]

[Name: Shen Ji]

[Cultivation: foundation establishment level 3]

[Current Luck Value: 1335]

[Equipped Traits 6/6: Wealth Returns After Being Spent (Gold), Supreme Sword Bone (Gold), Phantom Raid (Purple), Blessed with Many Children (Purple), Sword Mastery (Blue), Greased Soles (White)]

[To hunt someone down, you must bring the sharpest blade.]

[But you can't lose your escape route either.]

[You take Shen Tian and head all the way southeast. You no longer teach him grand and upright sword techniques, but only how to kill in one blow, how to hide, and how to track.]

[Age 49, early August. Outside Chifeng Valley, dense forest.]

[You make a discreet gesture to Shen Tian, and the youth quickly dives into the bushes, his presence completely vanishing.]

[You turn into a phantom, sticking to the shadows of the tree trunks, silently approaching the path ahead.]

[A shifty-eyed rogue cultivator is walking with his head down.]

[It's him. One of the peripheral lackeys of the Xuanyin Valley.]

[The moment he passes under the giant tree where you are hiding, you move.]

[[Phantom Raid] activated!]

[The rogue cultivator only feels a chill at the back of his neck, followed by a surge of sword qi piercing through his body, locking down all his meridians.]

[The icy edge of the jinhong sword is already resting against his neck.]

["Where does Xuanyin Valley trade 'Dark Erosion Grass'?" you ask coldly.]

["I... I don't know what you're talking about..."]

[Squelch—]

[A flash of bloody light.]

[The rogue cultivator's left arm is severed at the shoulder, hitting the ground with a dull thud.]

[The intense pain makes him open his mouth to scream, but your hand tightly covers it, leaving him only able to make wheezing sounds.]

["Next time, it's your head."]

[The rogue cultivator's whole body spasms in pain. His eyes hold nothing but pure terror as he nods his head frantically.]

[From his storage bag, you find a transmission talisman that was about to be activated.]

[Your divine sense sweeps over it; the path points to one place—Kugu Ridge, two hundred miles south of Chifeng Valley.]

[——]

[Age 49, August 12th. Deep in Kugu Ridge, at the hour of the Rat.]

[You suppress your aura to the limit, hiding behind a thirty-foot-high black boulder.]

[A hundred yards away is the entrance to a natural cavern.]

[Two figures are conducting a trade.]

[The one on the left you recognize—wearing a dark green robe with a face like dead ash, it is the Great Elder of Xuanyin Valley, Valley Master Mo Jiuyou, who is at foundation establishment level 8.]

[The figure on the right is seven feet tall, with faint scales covering his skin. A pair of vertical pupils flash with an eerie golden light in the dark night, and the nails on his ten fingers are black and hooked.]

[A terrifying pressure emanates from ahead.]

[The Demon Race.]

[The aura is unfathomably deep.]

[Golden Core stage.]

Shen Ji stared at those three words on the light screen, feeling the pressure increase manifold.

Golden Core stage.

He had been careful and cautious his whole life; what he feared most was running into such an existence.

And now, his simulated self was hiding behind a rock, a mere hundred yards away from that Golden Core Greater Demon.

The next line of text appeared on the light screen.

[You hear Valley Master Mo Jiuyou's fawning voice.]

["Rest assured, Your Excellency. That man named Huo from the Tianxuan Sect has already been taken care of. Everything he found out has been completely destroyed."]