Cloud Valley Way, within Cloud Valley City.
Inside the quiet room of a secluded courtyard, candlelight flickered faintly.
Di Cang wore a dark-gold cloak of wolf fur and stood alone before an unfurled map of the Northern Border of Yan Kingdom.
The map was densely marked with mountains, rivers, cities, fortresses, and several secret routes and red dots drawn in cinnabar.
It was the carefully orchestrated chain of assassinations he had devised, joining forces with the Blood Leopard Tribe and Black Python Tribe to target Taiyi Supreme Sect and the powers allied with it.
His face was old, its wrinkles creased like tree bark. Between his brows was a deep-purple vertical mark, like a closed heavenly eye.
As the foremost expert of the Canglang Tribe and a renowned peak Grandmaster among the Golden Court Eight Tribes, Di Cang possessed not only unfathomable cultivation, but also first-rate cunning and calculation.
This journey southward was ostensibly meant to disrupt the Six Sects Grand Market and intimidate all sides of Yan Kingdom. Its deeper purpose, however, was to clip Taiyi Supreme Sect's wings and weaken its influence.
Suddenly, Di Cang's chest gave a violent jolt!
It was as though an invisible needle had viciously pierced the depths of his heart.
"Buzz..."
A small crimson-jade vial hidden within his close-fitting inner armor began to tremble violently.
Inside the vial, a drop of dark-red Essence Blood gave a soft pop and turned into a cloud of dim blood mist.
Di Cang's body abruptly froze.
Slowly, he lowered his head and looked toward his chest.
That was Di Chang's Essence Blood.
Di Cang had planted it with his own hands and linked it through a secret art. It would completely disperse only when its owner's body and soul were annihilated.
"Di Chang...?"
Di Cang muttered under