Killing and Arson: Celestial Venerable Han

"The Dragon Finch Sky-Rending Claw, the Dragon Finch Soul-Crushing Chant, and so many cultivation insights—who knew burning people could trigger the Reincarnation Ability, and even work better at that."

The Empyrean Flame slowly devoured the remnants of the two Dragon Finch Elders, while Yan Kuan's gaze turned rather eerie. He had originally thought the Reincarnation Ability he awakened was only useful on objects others had used, but he never expected that using living beings directly would yield the best results.

His eyes immediately flicked to the twenty-six corpses, then he shook his head repeatedly. "Can't think that way, can't think that way—this is a society of law. I'm not good, at least I can't... this is tempting me to learn the mortal flow, kill and burn, then loot the spoils!"

As he spoke, he reached out and swept his hand, and from the Wheel Seas of the twenty-six corpses, various items flew out, all falling into the space of the Trigram Treasure Box. Then, with a flip of his palm, all the corpses were covered by the Empyrean Flame.

His mouth said no, but killing and burning came to him without a teacher, and all sorts of profound techniques and wondrous methods echoed in his mind.

"Sigh! I seem to have become a little bit evil. In the future, when doing this kind of thing, maybe I should use a disguise. Kill and burn as Celestial Venerable Han—no, no, it should be Li Feiyu. That's not right either. I should be the savior of the suffering, the revered alchemist persona. Killing and burning have nothing to do with me."

Yan Kuan quickly shifted the blame and let himself off the hook internally. The burning Empyrean Flame was now about to go out. The malicious trackers had all turned to ashes, scattered in the mountain wind. Two strange blood sources, glowing with purple light, appeared before Yan Kuan.

"The Demon God Bloodline of the Great Xia Dragon-Finch clan, similar to the Vermillion Phoenix Blood, but what I refined is purer."

Yan Kuan collected the two blood sources, thick with demonic aura, into two jade bottles. Then, using the Trigram Treasure Box to suppress the old woman's Dragon Finch Crook and a dark, eerie Divine Awl, he quickly left the canyon.

Not long after his figure disappeared, several figures appeared at the scene one after another. They looked at the canyon, charred black as if ravaged by lava, shock evident in each of their eyes. Then they quickly left, spreading the news.

Outside the entrance to the Underground Palace at Mount Lu in Jiujiang, Yan Kuan carefully took out the Dragon Finch Crook from the old woman and the dark, eerie Divine Awl.

Both treasures came from ancient times. Back then, the Ancestral Star was filled with numerous sects and powerful experts, naturally producing many great cultivators. It was nothing unusual for their relics to remain.

Those ancient great demons that once roared across heaven and earth, capable of grasping stars and capturing the moon, had either passed away or left this world, but they left behind many ancient weapons for their descendants—a stunning treasure trove.

Yan Kuan naturally wanted to keep these two secret treasures of great cultivators in his own hands, but he was even more aware that his current strength was insufficient.

These two treasures came from the Dragon Finch clan, and they surely had means to track them. Keeping them on hand would always be a hidden danger, but tossing them away casually also pained Yan Kuan. So he thought of a good idea: place these treasures in a deadly land, and retrieve them later when his strength was sufficient.

"I'll hide them in this deadly land. Let's see if you Dragon Finch clan have the guts to retrieve them."

Yan Kuan aimed the two sect-leader-level secret treasures at the depths of the Underground Palace, then channeled his divine power and hurled them with force. The two treasures turned into streaks of Divine Radiance, flying deep into the palace and embedding themselves there. Instantly, they triggered the formation below, unleashing a terrifying killing intent.

"Time to go."

After dealing with these treasures that he couldn't yet resolve the lingering traces of, Yan Kuan quickly fled, dodging the burst of killing intent from the Underground Palace, and flew toward Jiujiang. Since the Jiujiang Dragon-Finch Branch dared to provoke him, they should be prepared for misfortune.

In the villa district of the Jiujiang Dragon Finch clan, a figure swiftly passed through a hidden, shadowy corner. Yan Kuan vanished with each step, arriving deep in the villa area, stopping before a villa at the center with the strongest demonic aura. This spot had the best view, and the Purple Dragon Qi underground was thickest here.

"News from Mount Sanqing says that Que Elder and the Ancestral Aunt have met with trouble. The culprit is likely a suddenly appeared, unfamiliar alchemist."

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

"This is no longer the time to dwell on how the grudge started. With the Ancestral Aunt and Que Elder gone, our Jiujiang branch has suffered a massive loss of strength—that's the real issue."

"Clan leader, report this to the main branch's experts. The other forces inside and outside Jiujiang will get word sooner or later. This spiritual land we guard has been coveted by others for a long time."

"Sigh! Troubled times indeed!"

Outside the villa district, Yan Kuan quietly listened to the discussions of these Jiujiang Dragon Finch branch experts. His powerful divine sense could clearly perceive everything inside the villa. He felt no sympathy for their worries.

This Jiujiang Dragon-Finch Branch styled themselves as the Kings of Jiujiang, acting tyrannically and overbearingly, with a rather poor reputation in the cultivation world. The two who died had always seemed very polite to Yan Kuan, but in truth, they harbored deep malice. If Yan Kuan hadn't acted decisively back then, he would have been the one in trouble.

Yan Kuan lurked in the shadows for a long time, until around two in the morning, the time when people are most tired. He estimated that most had gone to sleep, then carefully sneaked into the villa, moving left and right with familiarity, penetrating deep inside.

Throughout the villa, figures clad in iron armor patrolled back and forth. Their armor gleamed with a cold, metallic luster, and each held various sharp weapons that shimmered with divine radiance.

Though the armor on these people was shiny, it bore traces of age, having endured many eras. In this day and age, if anyone saw such attire, they would be astonished—it was too primitive, completely out of place with the present.

Having refined part of the memories of the two Dragon Finch Elders, Yan Kuan was quite familiar with this villa.

From an omniscient perspective, observing his movements would be astonishing. Each step he took perfectly avoided the patrolling guards, allowing him to effortlessly enter a certain underground passage deep within the villa.

The true secret of this villa district lay in the palace underground. At the center of the Underground Palace's depths stood an ancient formation platform, carved with countless lines and patterns, drawing the Purple Dragon Qi from Mount Lu to this spot, transforming the earth's vein essence into a dense mist, concentrated within a ten-zhang radius.

"The spiritual land of the Jiujiang Dragon-Finch Branch. A pity I can't occupy it long-term; I can only take some benefits."

Yan Kuan looked regretfully at the place filled with purple dragon qi, then found several stone chambers in the Underground Palace, which held part of the secret treasures stored by this branch. Yan Kuan naturally took them all without courtesy.

In a corner of the Underground Palace, there was also a patch of spiritual farmland, planted with many spirit herbs. Nearby were some harvested spirit herbs and seeds stored in jade boxes. Yan Kuan swept them all away, wishing he could strip the Jiujiang Dragon-Finch Branch of every last treasure.

Before leaving, Yan Kuan used his Flame Divine Power to leave a message for the Dragon Finch clan in a conspicuous spot in the Underground Palace: "This Seat is Celestial Venerable Han. Take this as a lesson."