19: Chapter 19 Catching a Mouse

The night was deep.

Outside the valley, the moonlight was blocked by cliffs, leaving only darkness.

Shen Qingyuan stood with his hands behind his back, his green robes fluttering slightly in the night breeze, his expression languid.

Luo Qingyue stood by his side, her white clothes like snow, looking cold and unworldly.

She looked at the deep, secluded valley before her, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed.

The valley entrance was narrow, only allowing two people to walk side by side, and the steep cliffs on both sides were covered in dense vines.

From deep within the valley, a cold aura faintly drifted out, carrying a faint scent of blood that felt very unsettling.

"Young Master, why have we come here?"

Luo Qingyue asked softly, her gaze already scanning the surroundings vigilantly.

Shen Qingyuan's lips curled up slightly, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes: "Catching a mouse."

Luo Qingyue was slightly stunned.

A mouse?

She sent out her Divine Thought, wanting to sense the situation inside the valley.

But there seemed to be an invisible barrier deep in the valley that blocked her Divine Thought, preventing it from penetrating inside at all.

She couldn't help but look at Shen Qingyuan.

However, Shen Qingyuan had already stepped toward the valley, his pace unhurried, as if he were truly just out for a stroll.

Luo Qingyue quickly followed.

The two of them, one in front and one behind, stepped into the valley.

...

Inside the valley, a Blood Pool churned, its crimson aura permeating the air with a nauseating, fishy sweetness.

Daoist Qiu sat slumped by the Blood Pool, his face as pale as paper, his aura unstable.

But his eyes were filled with horror.

"Guangnan City... how could Guangnan City hide such a group of monsters?!"

He recalled how he had previously boasted, "What kind of foundation could a mere Shen Family have," and remembered saying he would use the blood essence of the Shen Family to refine his Faxiang...

Thinking about it now, he only felt lingering fear.

If he hadn't kept an ace up his sleeve and split off a wisp of his Divine Soul to hide in the Blood Pool beforehand, he would have completely perished in Guangnan City tonight!

"No... I must leave quickly!"

Daoist Qiu struggled to stand up and staggered toward the outside of the valley.

However—

Just as he walked out of the valley entrance, his footsteps came to a sudden halt.

Under the moonlight, two figures were standing not far outside the valley.

A young man stood lazily with his hands tucked into his sleeves, exuding a faint aura of the Meridian Opening Realm.

A woman in white stood by his side, cold as frost with an unworldly temperament, exuding the aura of the first stage of the Dharma Image Realm.

Daoist Qiu was startled at first, but after his Divine Thought swept over them and he discovered that their cultivation was pitifully low, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"You scared me; I thought those three were chasing me."

He grinned, revealing a mouthful of ghastly white teeth, a bloodthirsty red light flashing in his eyes.

"However... blood food delivered to my door, it would be a waste not to take it!"

Although he was weak now, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse; he was, after all, a powerhouse of the third stage of the Void Piercing Realm. Dealing with an ant at the Dharma Image Realm and another at the Meridian Opening Realm should be easy.

"I'll just swallow your blood and Qi to help me recover my strength!"

Daoist Qiu sneered and lunged toward them!

Blood light surged around his body, transforming into a giant phantom of a blood crow, opening its maw to devour them!

"The little lady looks good; I'll keep her for later and let this Daoist enjoy her properly—"

Before he could finish speaking—

A sword light shone!

Clang—!!!

A sharp, peerless sword beam flashed across the sky, fast as lightning, striking straight at Daoist Qiu!

Daoist Qiu's pupils shrank; he couldn't react at all!

"What—"

Pfft—!

The sword light struck his chest, sending a spray of blood into the air!

Daoist Qiu flew backward, somersaulting in the air before crashing heavily into the stone wall at the valley entrance!

"Bang!"

The stone wall shattered, rocks flew, and Daoist Qiu was embedded into the wall, blood spraying from his mouth!

"Cough, cough, cough—"

He widened his eyes, staring fixedly at the woman in white, his eyes full of disbelief.

"You... you..."

How is it possible?!

A first stage Dharma Image Realm cultivator sent him, a third stage Void Piercing Realm expert, flying with one sword strike?!

Are you kidding me?!

Luo Qingyue sheathed her sword and stood there, her white clothes fluttering, cold as an immortal.

She looked at Daoist Qiu, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

So the mouse the Young Master mentioned was this guy.

This guy actually didn't die!

Just now at Yicui Pavilion, she had personally watched Patriarch Shen Tianze and the others kill him.

Daoist Qiu struggled to crawl out of the stone wall; a deep sword scar on his chest had almost split him in two, and blood was gushing out.

He looked up at Luo Qingyue, his eyes filled with horror.

This woman... this woman is definitely not in the Dharma Image Realm!

That Sword Intent, that power, was even more terrifying than those three black-robed people from before!

Shen Qingyuan glanced at the Blood Pool deep in the valley, then walked slowly to Daoist Qiu, looking down at him with his lips curled up slightly.

"You people from Blood Crow Mountain do have some tricks."

Daoist Qiu trembled; with just one glance, he felt as if he had been seen through, and a chill shot straight from his spine to his brain.

He looked at the young man in front of him exuding the aura of the Meridian Opening Realm, yet an inexplicable fear welled up in his heart.

Wrong!

Very wrong!

This person in front of him is definitely not in the Meridian Opening Realm!

Daoist Qiu was on the verge of a breakdown; why did everyone in Guangnan City like to hide their true strength!

Why act like a little rabbit when you're a big bad wolf!

Shen Qingyuan lost interest after just a few glances; although the secret technique of Blood Crow Mountain was somewhat interesting, its flaws were extremely obvious. Resurrection via the Blood Pool would severely damage the Physical Body, and the violent Qi in the Blood Pool would also erode the Divine Soul.

Such a secret technique would render a person useless after only a few uses.

Shen Qingyuan didn't waste words; he simply raised his hand and pressed down lightly.

"Bang!"

Daoist Qiu was pinned as if by a giant mountain, stuck firmly in the stone wall, unable to move!

He widened his eyes, filled with absolute horror.

"Senior... Senior, spare my life!"

Daoist Qiu gritted his teeth: "This Junior is willing to offer my Divine Soul mark and henceforth pledge loyalty to you, Senior!"

As he spoke, a light flashed between his eyebrows, and a Divine Soul mark floated out, hovering in front of Shen Qingyuan.

The Divine Soul mark is a trace of a cultivator's Origin Divine Soul.

Handing over the Divine Soul mark meant placing one's life in someone else's hands.

With just a thought, the other party could cause him to suffer Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

Shen Qingyuan looked at the Divine Soul mark in front of him and suddenly smiled.

"A bit interesting."

He reached out and tapped it lightly.

The Divine Soul mark shattered directly!

Daoist Qiu's pupils shrank; before he could react, Shen Qingyuan's hand was already pressed against his head.

Soul Search!

A terrifying Divine Thought surged into Daoist Qiu's Sea of Consciousness, like a gale sweeping through, reading through all his memories!

Daoist Qiu trembled all over, blood flowing from his seven orifices, his eyes filled with pain and despair.

A moment later—

Shen Qingyuan withdrew his hand.

Daoist Qiu's head lolled to the side, his aura gone; he was completely dead.

This time, he was truly dead.

Luo Qingyue stepped forward and asked softly: "Young Master, did you find anything?"

Shen Qingyuan brushed off the non-existent dust from his hands and said casually: "Blood Crow Mountain is in the depths of the Tiannan Mountains. There is a Blood Crow Old Ancestor, at the seventh stage of the Void Piercing Realm. He has a few Void Piercing Realm minions under him who specialize in murder and robbery."

"Seventh stage of the Void Piercing Realm?" Luo Qingyue's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Young Master, should I go there?"

She was currently at the ninth stage of the Primal Chaos Realm, only one step away from achieving the ninth stage, the Asking Dao Realm. She naturally did not hold a mere seventh stage Void Piercing Realm Blood Crow Old Ancestor in high regard.

Shen Qingyuan nodded slightly. "The Crimson Sun Precious Body from the Wang Family went to Blood Crow Mountain. Go there and eliminate him!"

He did not hold the mere Blood Crow Mountain in high regard.

But Wang Teng, who possessed the Crimson Sun Precious Body, could not be let go.

The Treasure Body had immense potential; while not guaranteed to grow into a Saint, it was highly likely to reach the ninth stage, the Asking Dao Realm.

He could not leave such a hidden danger for the Shen Family!

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