Across the Board

Jin'an Prefecture, with the bright moon hanging high overhead.

On a treetop outside a manor in a small town, the figure of a middle-aged man stood tall and straight. He was none other than Bi Changsheng, who had spent five straight days traveling to reach Jin'an Prefecture.

Because he was pressed for time while completing this mission, Bi Changsheng had not ridden a horse. Instead, he had relied solely on his own footwork, allowing him to cross the prefectures in just a few days.

The ordinary-looking manor before Bi Changsheng was the target of his mission. By now, the manor had nearly fallen silent, and from the outside, Bi Changsheng could see nothing unusual.

However, according to the Demon Extermination Society's intelligence, it had been confirmed that this manor was a stronghold of the Yellow Heaven Cult.

Over the past three months, nearly all of the Yellow Heaven Cult's strongholds in Jin'an Prefecture had been swept away by the Divine Fist Sect and the Demon Extermination Society. This one had survived only because it had been so well disguised, but it had ultimately been discovered by the Demon Extermination Society through the traces it had inadvertently revealed.

Furthermore, this stronghold even housed an elder-level figure of the Yellow Heaven Cult in the True Qi Realm. That was also why the reward for this mission was so high.

The intelligence also mentioned that this elder-level figure of the Yellow Heaven Cult was suspected to be at the mid-stage of the True Qi Realm.

After confirming that this was indeed the target, Bi Changsheng stopped wasting time. With a tap of his toes against the treetop, he dove toward the manor.

With Bi Changsheng's current strength, no one in this Yellow Heaven Cult stronghold could stop him, so he decided to charge straight through everything in his path.

"Who?"

The moment Bi Changsheng crossed over the wall and entered the manor, the guards inside spotted him. They immediately raised their weapons and attacked him.

"As expected, something's not right."

Looking at the men charging toward him, Bi Changsheng discovered that all of the guards were formal martial artists, and one of them was even a Bone Forging Realm martial artist.

How could an ordinary manor possibly have a team with such strength guarding its gates?

As his thoughts turned, Bi Changsheng's hands did not hesitate either. A faint glimmer flashed from his Storage Ring, and the Qingfeng Sword appeared in his hand. A chilling killing intent suddenly erupted from Bi Changsheng. He swung the sword a few times as casually as though he were playing around, but the Qingfeng Sword no longer released Blood Qi Sword Qi. Instead, several genuine Sword Qi streaked out.

In the instant those Sword Qi flashed past, the martial artists guarding the gate had already been separated from their heads.

However, the commotion at the gate had already drawn the attention of the others, and numerous figures were quickly rushing over.

Bi Changsheng did not care. He had never planned to hide his presence on this trip, so he instead charged straight toward those approaching him.

As Bi Changsheng plunged into the crowd, he was like an elegant god of death. The Sword Qi radiating from his blade often claimed lives at unexpected angles, almost unconsciously. In Bi Changsheng's hands, slaughter seemed to have become a form of art.

More and more members of the Yellow Heaven Cult fell beneath Bi Changsheng's sword, among them no shortage of Qi and Blood Realm martial artists.

Watching Bi Changsheng, dressed in white with his long sword in hand and a terrifying killing intent radiating from his entire body, looking like an unparalleled Sword God, the remaining members of the Yellow Heaven Cult began to feel fear.

At that moment, they had no mind to admire the brilliance emanating from Bi Changsheng. They were only afraid that this death god, brimming with killing intent, would take their lives at any moment.

"Where did this bandit come from, to dare act so arrogantly?"

A furious roar, wrapped in true essence, exploded through the manor. Soon, the figure of an old man floated over after borrowing force several times in midair.

"Die!"

The instant he saw the old man, Bi Changsheng understood that this was the True Qi Realm elder of the Yellow Heaven Cult mentioned in the Demon Extermination Society's intelligence. Bi Changsheng immediately abandoned the others and charged toward the old man.

"Late-stage True Qi Realm!"

When he saw the cultivation Bi Changsheng had unleashed, the elder of the Yellow Heaven Cult felt a surge of fear. But Bi Changsheng was already almost in front of him, leaving the elder no choice but to brace himself and erupt with true essence to resist Bi Changsheng's attack.

As Bi Changsheng fought the Yellow Heaven Cult elder, the long sword in his hand had no fixed techniques. Every swing seemed like a casual strike, yet each one was perfectly natural, striking directly at his opponent's vital points without warning.

The Killing Sword Art in the Perfection Realm was displayed to its fullest in Bi Changsheng's hands.

The Yellow Heaven Cult elder had already been shaken by Bi Changsheng's cultivation and killing intent. He had been weakened by three parts before the fight even began. Struggling desperately, he blocked several strikes before Bi Changsheng's sword pierced straight through his heart.

After running his sword through the Yellow Heaven Cult elder's heart, Bi Changsheng sent true qi through the blade and into the elder's body, annihilating his vitality in one blow.

"Elder!"

When the remaining members of the Yellow Heaven Cult saw their elder slain by Bi Changsheng, they were shocked and immediately began to contemplate retreat.

Bi Changsheng, however, had no intention of letting them go. To prevent any fish from slipping through the net, he deliberately took a Divine Movement Talisman from his Storage Ring and slapped it onto himself. Feeling his body grow lighter, Bi Changsheng chased after those attempting to scatter.

With the Divine Movement Talisman enhancing him, Bi Changsheng seemed to transform into a white emissary of the underworld, drifting among the remaining members of the Yellow Heaven Cult and mercilessly taking their lives.

Before long, every remaining person had been killed by Bi Changsheng. Not a single one escaped.

After sweeping through the manor, Bi Changsheng did not hurry to leave. Instead, he began searching the manor carefully.

The Demon Extermination Society's intelligence had mentioned that this Yellow Heaven Cult stronghold had captured a large number of ordinary people, though no one knew what they intended to do with them. It was precisely because they had left traces while capturing those ordinary people that the Demon Extermination Society had discovered this stronghold.

Yet Bi Changsheng had not seen any of those ordinary people while sweeping through the manor just now. Thus, he decided to search more carefully and see whether he could find anything else.

Hard work had not failed him. After searching for nearly an hour, he finally discovered an underground entrance in an inconspicuous room.

Bi Changsheng hesitated for a moment. He first took out a Divine Movement Talisman and slapped it onto himself, then entered. The cautious Bi Changsheng had already decided that if he discovered anything amiss, he would turn tail and run at once.

As he made his way downward, Bi Changsheng saw quite a few grim white bones. Fortunately, he encountered no danger along the way that could threaten him.

When he reached the bottom of the entrance, Bi Changsheng discovered a sizable underground palace. A squad of martial artists was guarding it, and their leader was even at the Qi and Blood Realm.

However, they seemed completely unaware of what had happened in the manor. The instant they saw Bi Changsheng, astonishment appeared on all their faces.

Bi Changsheng, naturally, was not going to explain anything to them. He directly used the long sword in his hand to send them all down to reunite with their companions from before.

After dealing with this group of Yellow Heaven Cult martial artists, Bi Changsheng finally began examining the surroundings of the underground palace.