Qi Yuan's Plan

After delivering the finishing blow, Qi Yuan swept through Black Mountain Sect like a whirlwind scattering clouds, stripping it clean.

Of course, with time limited, he had focused most heavily on the Library Pavilion.

To Qi Yuan, cultivation methods mattered most.

Only the vast knowledge accumulated from countless cultivation methods, combined with his eyes that could see hidden information, would allow him to continue perfecting the Qi Yuan Sutra and carve out a great path of cultivation.

"Time to go."

Estimating the time, Qi Yuan swiftly left Black Mountain Sect.

Duan Qianrou wore a plain, spotless chest-high ruqun as she sat atop a Cloud Rabbit Carriage.

The Cloud Rabbit had three heads and eight legs. It could run upon the ground and soar through the air, and it was exceptionally steady. Thus, rabbits had quite fortunate fates—they were excellent land-and-air carriage pullers, with no need to worry about their heads being eaten.

"Everyone, when we negotiate with Black Mountain Sect this time, we must stand together and not back down. Handing over twenty percent of the blood crystals to Black Mountain Sect is already the limit for us. We cannot give them any more!" said a burly man.

There were more than ten people aboard the Cloud Rabbit Carriage, all of them owners of major blood crystal mines in Bloodless City.

A few days ago, Black Mountain Sect had demanded that the mine owners increase their tribute of blood crystals from twenty percent to thirty percent.

This had enraged the mine owners beyond measure.

Bloodless City was not even under Black Mountain Sect's jurisdiction. Giving them twenty percent before had already been utterly unreasonable.

Yet now they wanted to raise it directly to thirty percent. It was simply tyrannical.

"Ah, Lao Wang, what can a united front do for us?

"Black Mountain Sect has Black Chicken Old Demon behind them. Even the Three Great Cultivation Sects have to give them face.

"How can Rogue Cultivators like us contend with Black Mountain Sect?

"I'm only afraid that if we refuse to raise their share, we can forget about returning to Bloodless City," an old man in the Foundation Establishment Realm said helplessly.

Everyone present turned grave.

Black Mountain Sect was fully capable of such things.

Which of Black Mountain Sect's elders was not a ruthless character?

Even Yu Linglong, who looked so delicate and pitiful, had cultivated her Dao through murder before Black Chicken Old Demon took her as his forbidden plaything.

As for Black Mountain Sect's disciples, most had started out as bandit cultivators. One could well imagine how vile their temperaments were.

"Ah, if only a sword immortal would come one day and wipe out Black Mountain Sect with a single strike. How wonderful that would be!"

"Even the Three Great Sects can do nothing about Black Mountain Sect. Where would we find a sword immortal?"

"Lao Wang, keep your voice down. Don't let anyone from Black Mountain Sect hear you."

Sitting in the Cloud Rabbit Carriage, Duan Qianrou felt rather melancholy as well.

But just then, the Cloud Rabbit Carriage slowed down.

Everyone inside stiffened, thinking they had encountered people from Black Mountain Sect.

The curtain was drawn aside, and they saw a handsome young man.

Duan Qianrou was somewhat surprised, for this young man was the very person who had chatted so pleasantly with her mother earlier that day.

Why... was he within Black Mountain Sect's territory?

And so close to Black Mountain Sect's headquarters at that?

Could he be a disciple of Black Mountain Sect?

At that thought, disgust rose in Duan Qianrou's heart.

It was not that she was indiscriminately condemning everyone, but there truly were no good people in Black Mountain Sect!

"Everyone, pardon the interruption." The newcomer was Qi Yuan, who had just exterminated a sect before coming down the mountain. Looking at the group, he slowly asked, "May I ask which nearby Market has a Soaring Sky Pavilion?"

Hearing that he was merely asking for directions, everyone heaved a sigh of relief.

They had feared he was a disciple of Black Mountain Sect.

"There is one in Sky Cloud Market," Duan Qianrou answered.

"Thank you, everyone!" Qi Yuan cupped his hands in salute, polite and refined, while inwardly sighing that there were still more good people than bad in this world.

Thinking of something, Duan Qianrou could not help asking, "How did you end up at Black Mountain Sect?"

Everyone understood that Duan Qianrou knew this young man, so there was probably no problem.

"I came here... to look at the stars." Qi Yuan's eyes darted around. He truly did not know how to lie, so he casually made something up.

Duan Qianrou let out a laugh. "I was presumptuous. Oh, right—Black Mountain Sect is very dangerous. If there is no need, you must never come here."

"You're right. This place is far too dangerous. I need to run for it!" With that, Qi Yuan quickly ran off.

Watching Qi Yuan disappear in a puff of dust, everyone present felt rather baffled.

"Mine Owner Duan knows that young man?" Lao Wang asked. "His personality is quite amusingly strange."

"I don't know him," Duan Qianrou denied.

No one said anything, merely assuming that Duan Qianrou was kindhearted.

This was only a minor interlude.

No one took it to heart.

The Cloud Rabbit Carriage sped onward.

Before long, they arrived at the gates of the Black Mountain Sect.

"Eh, why has the White Bone Bridge collapsed?"

Everyone was astonished.

To reach the Black Mountain Sect, one had to cross the White Bone Bridge.

Now, that White Bone Bridge was gone.

"Look, what's that?"

Everyone immediately used their Daoist arts to peer into the Black Mountain Sect's mountain gate.

They saw that the Black Mountain Sect's gate had collapsed, while corpses littered its interior.

"Th-that's Elder... Yuan Dan..." someone said, their teeth chattering.

"The Black Mountain Sect has been wiped out!"

Everyone was shocked beyond measure.

That was the Black Mountain Sect—the utterly tyrannical Black Mountain Sect!

To wipe out the Black Mountain Sect, wouldn't one need at least a Divine Infant Old Monster?

Weren't they afraid of offending the Black Chicken Old Demon?

Everyone suddenly turned to look at Lao Wang, who had just claimed that a sword immortal had wiped out the Black Mountain Sect.

Lao Wang hurriedly waved his hands. "Not me, I didn't do it!"

Duan Qianrou narrowed her eyes, thinking of the young man they had encountered on the road earlier.

Had he... seen something?

Everyone present had different thoughts, but they all understood one thing: the Great Shang Kingdom was about to descend into chaos.

Sky Cloud Market.

Qi Yuan walked faster than usual.

After coming down from the Black Mountain Sect, he suddenly realized that he had not handled things properly.

Although Yu Linglong had already been utterly destroyed by him.

But... what if there was more than one Purple Bamboo Body in the Black Mountain Sect?

What if the Black Mountain Sect's sect master, Black Wind Daoist, also possessed a Purple Bamboo Body?

The Black Chicken Old Demon was playing a grand game. Yu Linglong was merely the Purple Bamboo Body out in the open, while his adopted son Black Wind Daoist, and perhaps others in the Black Mountain Sect, were Purple Bamboo Bodies hidden in the dark.

He did not dare return to the Black Mountain Sect.

So after pondering for a long time, he came up with a solution.

He would spread the news that there were Purple Bamboo Bodies within the Black Mountain Sect!

That way, by the time the Black Chicken Old Demon emerged from seclusion and came to the Black Mountain Sect, what he saw would surely be... a Black Mountain Sect without even a single corpse left.

For the sake of breaking through their cultivation realms—especially into the Nascent Soul realm, or even the Purple Mansion realm—how mad could cultivators become? Qi Yuan could hardly imagine it.

Thus, he had asked for the location of the Soaring Sky Pavilion along the way.

The Soaring Sky Pavilion was a special presence within Great Shang.

It could be said that eighty percent of Great Shang's Game Jade Slips, ninety percent of its Projection Jade Slips, and fifty percent of its Communication Jade Slips all came from the Soaring Sky Pavilion.

By Qi Yuan's understanding, this was the Tencent of his previous life.

His purpose in coming to the Soaring Sky Pavilion was to use its various jade slip channels to let the cultivators of the Great Shang Kingdom know that the Black Mountain Sect possessed Purple Bamboo Bodies.

That way, countless cultivators would surely brave the danger and head for the Black Mountain Sect.

Then when the Black Chicken Old Demon emerged from seclusion and came to the Black Mountain Sect to investigate whoever had destroyed it...

Investigate my ass!

They were all people!

The corpses of Black Mountain Sect disciples would be scattered across every corner of the country!