Celestial Venerable Han, Arsonist and Murderer

"Dragon Finch Sky-Rending Claw, Dragon Finch Soul-Crushing Chant, and so many insights into cultivation techniques. I never thought burning people could trigger the Reincarnation Ability—and with even better results."

Empyrean Flame slowly devoured the remnants of the two Dragon Finch Elders, while Yan Kuan's gaze grew rather strange. He had originally thought the Reincarnation Ability he awakened only worked on objects others had used, but he had not expected that using living beings directly would yield the best results.

His eyes immediately drifted toward the twenty-six corpses, then he repeatedly shook his head. "Don't think like that, don't think like that. This is a society ruled by law. I'm not... at the very least, I can't... This is tempting me to become one of those mortal-stream protagonists, professionally looting bodies after murder and arson!"

As he spoke, he reached out and drew in the various items that flew from the Wheel Seas of the twenty-six corpses, all of them falling into the space within the Trigram Treasure Box. Then, with a flip of his palm, every corpse was covered by Empyrean Flame.

His mouth said no, but when it came to murder and arson, he seemed to have mastered it without instruction. All kinds of profound techniques and wondrous arts echoed through his mind.

"Ah! It seems I've become just a tiny bit evil. Maybe I should get an alias before doing this sort of thing in the future. Celestial Venerable Han, arsonist and murderer... No, no, it should be Li Feiyu. That's not right either. I should have the image of an alchemist who saves the suffering and earns the reverence of countless people. Murder and arson have nothing to do with me."

Yan Kuan quickly shifted the blame and soothed his conscience. The burning Empyrean Flame was also about to go out. The malicious pursuers had all turned to ashes and scattered on the mountain wind, while two strange sources of blood glowing with purple light appeared before Yan Kuan.

"The Demon God Bloodline of the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Clan. It was similar to Vermilion Phoenix Blood, but the bloodline I refined was even purer."

Yan Kuan collected the two strands of intensely demonic Purple Blood into two Jade Vials. Then, using the Trigram Treasure Box, he suppressed the Old Woman's Dragon Finch Crook and a Divine Awl that emitted a gloomy sheen before swiftly leaving the gorge.

Not long after his figure disappeared, several figures arrived one after another. Looking at the scorched gorge before them, as though it had been ravaged by lava, shock filled every one of their eyes. They soon left and spread the news.

Outside the entrance to the Mount Lu underground palace in Jiujiang, Yan Kuan cautiously took out the Dragon Finch Crook he had obtained from the old woman and that Divine Awl with its sinister gleam.

Both treasures came from ancient times. Back then, sects stood in abundance across the Ancestral Star, and experts were as numerous as clouds. Naturally, many Great Abilities had emerged, so it was nothing unusual for weapons they had left behind to remain.

Those ancient great demons who had once roamed the heavens and earth, capable of plucking stars and grasping the moon, had either passed away or departed from this world. Yet they had also left behind many ancient weapons for their descendants—a staggering treasure trove.

Yan Kuan naturally wanted to keep these two secret treasures of Great Abilities for himself, but he knew even more clearly that his current strength was insufficient.

These two treasures came from the Dragon Finch Clan, so they surely had methods to awaken and track them. Keeping them would always be a hidden danger, but casually throwing them away pained Yan Kuan as well. So he came up with a good solution: leave these treasures in a deadly place, then retrieve them once he was strong enough.

"I'll hide them in this deadly place. Let's see whether your Dragon Finch Clan has the nerve to retrieve them."

Yan Kuan aimed the two leader-level secret treasures toward the depths of the underground palace, then circulated his divine power and hurled them with all his might. The two leader-level treasures became two streaks of Divine Radiance that flew deep into the underground palace and embedded themselves there. Instantly, the formations below erupted with astonishing killing intent.

"Time to go."

After dealing with these treasures whose lingering consequences he could not yet resolve, Yan Kuan hurriedly left. Once he had avoided the outbreak of killing intent from the underground palace, he flew toward Jiujiang. Since the Jiujiang Dragon Sparrow Branch dared provoke him, they had better be prepared for bad luck.

Within the villa district of the Jiujiang Dragon Finch Clan, a figure swiftly darted through concealed corners of shadow. Yan Kuan vanished with every step, arriving deep within the villa district and stopping before the central villa with the densest demonic aura. It had the best view, and the Purple Dragon Qi beneath it was also the strongest.

"News has come from Mount Sanqing. Que Elder and Ancestral Aunt have met with trouble. The culprit is most likely an unfamiliar alchemist who suddenly appeared."

"An unfamiliar alchemist? How could Ancestral Aunt have formed a grudge with someone like that?"

"This is no longer the time to dwell on why they became enemies. Ancestral Aunt and Que Elder have met with trouble, and the strength of our Jiujiang branch has suffered greatly. That is the real issue."

"Clan Chief, report this to the experts of the main branch. Other forces inside and outside Jiujiang will learn of this sooner or later. The spiritual land we guard has been coveted for a long time."

"Alas! These are troubled times!"

Outside the villa district, Yan Kuan quietly listened to the discussion among these experts of the Jiujiang Dragon Sparrow Branch. His powerful divine sense naturally allowed him to clearly perceive everything within the villa. He felt not the slightest sympathy for their worries.

This Jiujiang Dragon Sparrow Branch called themselves the Kings of Jiujiang and acted tyrannically and overbearingly. Their reputation in the cultivation world was far from good. The two who had died had seemed courteous toward Yan Kuan all along, but in truth they had concealed deep malice. Had Yan Kuan not acted decisively at the time, he would certainly have been the one in trouble.

Yan Kuan lurked in the shadows for a long time, until around two in the morning, when people were at their most exhausted. Once he estimated that most of them had gone to sleep, he carefully slipped into the villa and, moving with practiced ease, made his way deeper inside.

Figures clad in iron armor patrolled every part of the villa. Their armor flashed with a cold metallic luster, and each held various sharp weapons that radiated divine brilliance.

Though the armor on these people was polished bright, it bore faint traces of age and had endured many years. If anyone saw such attire in this day and age, they would surely be astonished. It was far too primitive and utterly out of place in the modern world.

Yan Kuan had refined part of the memories of the Dragon Finch Clan's two elders, so he was extremely familiar with this villa.

From an omniscient perspective, his movements would seem quite incredible. Every step he took perfectly avoided the patrols, allowing him to enter an underground passage deep within the villa with effortless ease.

The true secret of this villa district lay in the underground palace below. At the center of its depths stood an ancient Array Platform, carved with line after line of patterns. It drew the Purple Dragon Qi of Mount Lu to this place, transforming the essence of the earth veins into mist that gathered within an area ten zhang across.

"The spiritual land of the Jiujiang Dragon Sparrow Branch... What a pity. I can't occupy it for long, so I can only take some benefits."

Yan Kuan looked regretfully at the place filled with Purple Dragon Qi, then found several Stone Chambers within the underground palace. They contained part of the secret treasures stored by this branch, and Yan Kuan naturally accepted all of them without ceremony.

In one corner of the underground palace was also a cultivated spirit field, planted with many spiritual herbs. Beside it were some harvested herbs and herb seeds stored in jade boxes. Yan Kuan naturally swept them all away as well, wishing he could strip the Jiujiang Dragon Sparrow Branch of every last treasure.

Before leaving, Yan Kuan even used Flame Divine Power to leave a message for the Dragon Finch Clan in a conspicuous spot within the underground palace. "I, Celestial Venerable Han, am giving you a lesson."