A sliver of morning light spilled across the earth.
The crowing of roosters rang out.
In a single night, the Chen Family, who had thrown their weight around Spring Island and tipped off that Daoist, had been wiped out to the last person. Not one had survived.
With the Chen Family gone, the people of Spring Island, long oppressed, welcomed a new beginning. They embraced and celebrated beneath the swirling snow.
In an instant, all of Spring Island ushered in the New Year early, with every household hanging lanterns and decorations.
As for Zhao Huaian, the one behind it all, he had already sailed away on a lone skiff, vanishing into the vast waters.
"Damn it! What a pauper!"
Amid the boundless waters, Zhao Huaian stood on a lone skiff, tallying up what he had gained this time.
After killing that Daoist, he naturally hadn't passed up the chance to search the body.
Unfortunately, that Daoist had been a pauper.
Aside from a Storage Bag that had a little value, he had only a few dozen Low-grade Spirit Stones on him. He was like a beggar, with no decent gear at all save for a Bell.
As for his other spell manuals, they were even more worthless—common junk, as useless as chicken ribs.
"Good thing killing that wicked Daoist didn't take much effort. If it had been like Lin Zihao, I might not even have made my money back."
"But I suppose it makes sense. If that wicked Daoist had really been wealthy, why would he have chosen to hole up on some mortal island, extracting blood from ordinary people by hunting them down to cultivate?"
Zhao Huaian couldn't help grumbling, then took stock of his belongings.
Counting the spoils from these two rounds of killing and searching corpses, he now had three Storage Bags and a grand total of six hundred and seventy-three Low-grade Spirit Stones.
Besides the Spirit Stones, he also had a great many Spirit Talismans. Together, they were quite a fortune.
He also had four Dharma Artifacts to his name: one Low-grade Dharma Artifact and three Mid-grade Dharma Artifacts.
All told, if converted into Spirit Stones, his possessions would be worth nearly two thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones.
"The road ahead is long and arduous... Still, for a Qi Refining Layer Five cultivator like me, this is a fortune."
Zhao Huaian let out a long breath. Looking at the azure Mid-grade Dharma Artifact Flying Sword and the little golden Bell, he mused, "I wonder if there'll be a market for Rogue Cultivators along the way to my next two mission sites. If there is, I can take the chance to sell these two things—especially the Dharma Artifact Lin Zihao used in life."
Though Zhao Huaian had always cultivated diligently in the Greenwood Sect, he still made a point of studying and learning about the Cultivation World in his spare time.
From what he knew, besides the four major cultivation sects, the Huai'an Water Region was also home to scattered smaller sects and a great many Rogue Cultivators.
To meet their various needs, these smaller sects and Rogue Cultivators had jointly established markets throughout the Huai'an Water Region, making it easier to buy and sell the things they needed.
Having come out this time and picked up some ill-gotten goods, Zhao Huaian naturally wanted to try his luck and see if he could find a market established by Rogue Cultivators, where he could sell all of it.
"If I find one, that'll be my good fortune. If not, I'll put everything away. I can simply avoid using them. Besides, I'm not short on Spirit Stones right now."
Shaking his head, Zhao Huaian looked ahead and urged his lone skiff onward.
The second mission site wasn't far from Spring Island. In just half a day, Zhao Huaian reached it and smoothly completed the mission.
By the time he set off once more for the third mission site, his Storage Bag held the corpse of a Qi Refining Layer Three demon beast.
Completing the mission so quickly brought an even broader smile to Zhao Huaian's face.
At this pace, he'd soon be back at the Greenwood Sect, where he could turn in his missions and earn three months of uninterrupted cultivation.
A day later, night fell.
Zhao Huaian stood on his lone skiff and slowly came ashore on a rather desolate little island.
This was the site of his final mission.
According to the mission description, something uncanny was haunting the island, with strength of around Qi Refining Layer Three.
"Once I finish this mission, I can return to the Greenwood Sect."
After landing on the island and feeling the chill in the air around him, Zhao Huaian didn't let the mission's description lull him into lowering his guard.
Beneath the moonlight, several Concealment Talismans and Protective Talismans clung to his clothes as he slowly made his way deeper into the island.
The island was quite desolate. On the way, Zhao Huaian hadn't seen a single person.
Perhaps it was because of the haunting, or perhaps because it was already late and the residents had gone to bed.
Soon, as the fog around him thickened and the air grew colder, Zhao Huaian caught sight of faint red lights flickering to the left ahead.
"Light? Looks like people still live around here. I can go investigate where the uncanny presence is coming from."
Muttering to himself, Zhao Huaian quickened his pace toward the faint red glow.
In less than half an incense stick's time, Zhao Huaian crossed a winding, narrow path, and the dark-red glow grew brighter.
It was lamplight!
Not far ahead stood a dim little village.
Two large, bright-red lanterns hung at the village entrance, their color as vivid as blood.
The dark-red light shone from those two bright-red lanterns.
"There's Ghostly Qi!"
Zhao Huaian's nostrils flared. Feeling the dense yin energy and gray fog around him, he couldn't help frowning.
He had originally planned to ask around the village for clues about the uncanny presence.
But now, with its dense yin energy and gray-black miasma, the village was very likely connected to the haunting.
Zhao Huaian thought it over, then quickly took out several more Protective Talismans and stuck them to himself before striding toward the village.
As the fog swirled around him, Zhao Huaian's white-robed figure drifted into the village.
Red lanterns hung outside every household in the village, some with one or two, others with four or five.
The lanterns were all startlingly bloodred, and the light they gave off grew ever brighter and more eerie.
Drip... drip...
The clear sound of liquid drops drew Zhao Huaian's attention.
He turned to look, Spiritual Energy flickering in his eyes.
When he made out the scene before him, his expression turned grave.
For once his Spiritual Energy dispersed the fog, there were no red lanterns in the village at all.
They were heads, each stained red with blood, and blood kept dripping from the severed necks.
"In this uncanny, brutal world, crawling with demons and monsters, mortal lives really are no better than ants—utterly powerless to fight back."
Zhao Huaian drew a deep breath, overcome by emotion.
He was also grateful to have embarked on the path of cultivation.
Otherwise, if he ever encountered an uncanny haunting or a demon rampage on Golden Sand Island, he too would be powerless to resist and would end up as someone else's food.
He took another deep breath.
Zhao Huaian swept his hand, Spiritual Energy surging as he instantly dispersed the fog before him.
He walked forward step by step, carefully observing the entire village.
An extremely dense yin energy still lingered here. If his guess was right, then the uncanny creature that had slaughtered all the villagers couldn't have gone far. It might even be hiding nearby.
"Where could it be hiding..."
Walking toward the place where the yin energy was thickest, Zhao Huaian murmured to himself, warily watching his surroundings.
Before long, as he ventured deeper, Zhao Huaian reached another exit from the village.
The road at this exit was quite wide, and the fog at its entrance was far denser than anything inside the village.
"Could this be where that uncanny creature is hiding?"
Zhao Huaian stared straight ahead.
Just as he hesitated over whether to step inside, a gust of sinister wind suddenly swept past, and countless thick swirls of fog instantly engulfed him.
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