16: Chapter 16 Heavenly Demon Palace

By the time he returned to the Sect, the small cabin he had commissioned Carpenter Feng to build had been finished for quite some time.

The house was not large; one could see right through it just by standing at the entrance.

The walls, beams, and floors were all made of polished logs, revealing clear annual ring patterns. Up close, one could even smell a faint scent of pine.

Inside was a low wooden bed, a square table, and two armchair-style stools. The style was minimalist, but the fine craftsmanship of the mortise and tenon joints was evident.

In the entire house, aside from the necessary bed, table, and stove, there were no extra items.

Yun Ming was very satisfied.

However, since he had been out for over half a month this time, the house had inevitably accumulated some dust.

The Formation he had asked Carpenter Feng to help set up came in handy.

As a Spirit Stone was placed into the center of the Formation, several Formations instantly activated simultaneously. In the blink of an eye, the entire house was refreshed.

"Not bad."

Yun Ming activated the Spirit Gathering Formation as well, sat down in the room, calmed his mind, and opened the System.

Name: [Yun Ming]

Realm: [Qi Refining Level 4]

Trait: [Serious Punch] (Gold)

Profession: Tier 1 Low Grade Alchemist

Cultivation Technique: [Supreme Profound Pure Qi Art] (Purple), [Introduction to Alchemy Scripture] (Blue)

Spell: [Green Wood Art] (White)

Draws: [240]

Wealth: 0.12

Items: enlightenment card × 1 (Purple), qi condensing pill × 1 (Blue)

After being out for over twenty days, he had accumulated over two hundred draws.

"I haven't had a 'suitable for drawing' day for over twenty days; my luck is just too poor," Yun Ming said with some disappointment. He then thought, "Last time I did a hundred draws in a row and got a gold. Now that I've saved up two hundred draws, I should be guaranteed at least two golds, right?"

Thinking of this, Yun Ming's mood improved slightly, and he returned to his Cultivation.

...

Wan Province, Qiya City.

In a hidden courtyard, four evil Cultivators gathered together, discussing the matter of being hunted by the Sunset Glow Sect.

"Damn it! If this continues, we'll be completely wiped out," said an evil Cultivator carrying a Ghost-headed Greatsword.

"We were almost about to take Wan Province. It's all the fault of those Sunset Glow Sect Cultivators for disrupting our plans," another man, barely four feet tall and ugly in appearance, added.

"Enough, enough, stop talking nonsense. What about the Young Lord? Have you contacted him yet?" Beside them at a stone table, a woman with an extremely voluptuous figure looked at the other two with a face full of disdain and loathing, her words even more merciless: "You're all useless trash."

The short, ugly man snorted coldly. "Yin Mei, you bitch, are you looking for trouble?"

The man with the Ghost-headed Greatsword wore a lewd expression, licking the blade as he said, "Whether we're useless or not, how will you know if you don't try us?"

Yin Mei gave a disdainful laugh, rolled her eyes at the two, and said, "Just looking at you, I can tell you're hollow inside. I don't know what the Young Lord was thinking, pairing me with you for this operation."

"Alright, alright, stop it, all of you." The last person spoke up to stop them, signaling for them to cease their bickering.

Yin Mei didn't bother wasting more words on them. Fan Shan, the short man, and Gui Toudao, the one with the ghost-headed sword, also snorted and stopped arguing.

"The most important thing now is to contact the Young Lord. Although the plan was disrupted, the tasks the Sect Master assigned us are mostly completed. As for those low-level Cultivators, if they're dead, they're dead."

"Damn, I'm just not satisfied. I was planning to personally kill one or two Qi Refining Late Stage Cultivators to sacrifice to my Ghost Blade," Gui Toudao said.

"Isn't the point how we contact the Young Lord?" Fan Shan asked.

"The transmission Jade Slip hasn't received a reply, but his Soul Lamp is still lit. At the very least, it proves the Young Lord isn't dead yet," Yin Mei said.

"We've checked several strongholds; everyone is dead, and there's no sign of the Young Lord."

All four of them were deacons of the Heavenly Demon Hall, each with a cultivation at the Qi Refining Great Circle. They had been stationed in Wan Province for years to carry out a special mission. The First Prince had promised each of them a foundation establishment pill upon completion.

Until a few months ago, when the Young Lord arrived in person, saying he would personally oversee this special mission.

Then, they were exposed. Years of hard work were ruined, and all their subordinates were killed.

Fortunately, the mission was barely considered complete, but the Young Lord had gone missing.

If the Young Lord weren't the biological son of the Heavenly Demon Hall's First Prince, they would have suspected him of being an undercover mole.

Now in a bind, they didn't know whether to look for the Young Lord first or return to the Heavenly Demon Hall to report.

Just then, a powerful Sword Qi slashed down at them from the sky.

Fan Shan, Yin Mei, and the other person reacted quickly, using various eerie movement techniques to dodge the strike.

But Gui Toudao was slow to react and failed to dodge. He was split in half on the spot, deader than dead.

"Damn it! Who is it?"

"Gui Toudao is dead. I told you he was useless."

"It's a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. We're no match for him, retreat!"

Gui Toudao was, after all, at the Qi Refining Great Perfection, only one step away from the Foundation Establishment Realm. To be killed in a single strike, it could only be a Foundation Establishment Cultivator's doing.

"Trying to leave? Too late!"

In mid-air, a man floated. He stood there, his back straight as a lonely peak, with an innate arrogance in his eyes. The jinghong sword in his hand carried a sharp Sword Intent.

The group was shocked!

"Lu Ming! You've reached Foundation Establishment!"

Lu Ming said expressionlessly, "Even without reaching Foundation Establishment, killing you lot would be effortless."

Knowing they were no match, they exchanged glances and simultaneously made the same move: flee.

Lu Ming naturally wouldn't give them a chance. With a gentle flick of his wrist, the jinghong sword instantly brought forth a condensed Sword Aura.

"Block it together, or all three of us will die!" the last evil Cultivator shouted to Fan Shan and Yin Mei. He raised his hand and summoned a massive skull from his Storage Pouch. The skull grew in the wind, quickly turning into a giant bone shield.

"Good brother, hold on first, I'll go get reinforcements for you!" Fan Shan naturally wouldn't turn back. He knew that even if the three of them joined forces, they couldn't block it. It was better to take the chance to escape.

Clearly, Yin Mei thought the same. She didn't even reply, focusing only on fleeing.

"You two!"

"Noisy."

As expected, the evil Cultivator only felt a massive force strike. The giant bone shield couldn't block it at all and was instantly shattered into pieces. A large crater was caved into the Cultivator's chest, and he was sent flying, deeply embedded into the ground.

Before Fan Shan and Yin Mei could escape, Lu Ming stepped into the Void Realm, his figure like a soaring swan, leaving behind series of afterimages in the air.

The jinghong sword was so fast it only left a speck of light. Fan Shan didn't even know when his heart had been pierced through.

Yin Mei was pale with fright, realizing she couldn't escape. She simply knelt down and begged for mercy: "I beg Senior Lu to spare this humble girl's life. I am willing to serve Senior Lu as my master and never betray you for all eternity."

Lu Ming flew down in front of her. Seeing Yin Mei kneeling before him, looking pitiful, his heart and eyes were filled with nothing but loathing and disgust for her.

"Get lost. Not killing a woman like you is only because it would soil my sword." Lu Ming waved his hand, sparing Yin Mei's life.

Hearing Lu Ming say this, a flash of joy appeared in the depths of Yin Mei's eyes. She was incredibly relieved and hurriedly said, "Thank you, Senior Lu, for your mercy. I have no way to repay you. If you need my help..."

Before Yin Mei could finish, Lu Ming barked, "Hurry up and get lost! Are you begging me to kill you?"

Yin Mei shuddered, not daring to say more. She turned and vanished in an instant.

"Disgusting," Lu Ming said.

"Disgusting? You seemed to enjoy it." At this moment, another person stepped out from the shadows. It was the Young Lord whom the four had been searching for in vain.