Gathering his thoughts, Su Yun turned to head downstairs and register his exchange.
He had just stepped onto the landing between the third and fourth floors.
A gentle, lilting female voice suddenly came from the fourth floor.
"Junior nephew, wait."
Su Yun stopped in his tracks.
He looked up.
A graceful figure slowly descended the stairs above him.
She wore plain white robes, her figure slender, and a smile played at the corners of her eyes.
It was his junior grand-aunt, Liu Shuang'er.
Su Yun's heart stirred despite himself.
His instinct was to pretend he hadn't seen her, sidestep, and slip away.
This junior grand-aunt was far too hard to read.
She had tested him with her words the first time they met, and there was always a probing look in her eyes.
Su Yun didn't want to get too involved with her. If he could avoid her, he would.
But Liu Shuang'er's gaze was quick, and she had already fixed it on him.
"Junior nephew Su Yun, it's been a while. I didn't expect to run into you here."
There was no getting away.
Su Yun could only stop, put on a warm smile, and give a slight bow.
"Greetings, Junior Grand-Aunt."
Liu Shuang'er came up to him and glanced over him with her beautiful eyes.
The next instant, a flicker of surprise crossed her gaze.
Then it turned into a faint smile.
"Not bad."
"It's only been a little over a month, and you've already broken through to the fifth level of Qi Refining."
"Your Heavenly Spirit Root certainly lives up to its reputation."
"At this rate, you won't need more than a few years to break through to Foundation Establishment."
"You're more and more of a pleasant surprise."
Su Yun wore a modest expression and replied softly.
"Junior Grand-Aunt, you flatter me."
"Your disciple only managed a steady breakthrough through good fortune. There's still much room for improvement."
Liu Shuang'er shook her head, her eyes carrying both admiration and amusement.
"I have high hopes for you."
"Work hard at your cultivation and break through to Foundation Establishment soon."
"Once you've succeeded, I'll take you out to see the wider world."
Su Yun bowed slightly in thanks.
"Thank you for your kindness, Junior Grand-Aunt. Your disciple will certainly cultivate diligently."
As soon as he finished speaking, he didn't dare linger.
He dipped into a slight bow and immediately took his leave.
"If you have no further instructions, Junior Grand-Aunt, I'll take my leave."
Before Liu Shuang'er could respond, Su Yun turned and hurried downstairs.
Behind him, Liu Shuang'er watched his hurried retreat.
Her gentle smile never changed.
Only after Su Yun left the Technique Pavilion did he quietly let out a breath of relief.
Liu Shuang'er was definitely no simple person.
He would do his best to avoid her from now on.
The scene shifted.
Spirit Province, the Northern Wilderness Mountains.
This was the most desolate, bitterly cold wasteland in all of Spirit Province.
The mountains were black and barren, not a blade of grass able to grow.
Gale-force winds howled year-round, carrying a bone-piercing chill as they swept over the shattered cliffs.
Faint black mist drifted through the air at all times, cold and rotten, with Killing Intent permeating everything.
There were none of the lush green hills and clear waters of Spirit Province's heartland, nor its abundant spiritual energy.
Only endless barren mountains, scattered bones and ruins, and ghostly winds.
A hundred years ago, the war between the righteous and the demonic had ended.
The Devil Dao had been routed, its forces utterly shattered.
The Ghost Fire Sect, one of the Devil Dao's main powers in Spirit Province, had suffered heavy casualties, and more than half its foundations had been destroyed.
After its defeat, the Ghost Fire Sect had been driven out by the five great righteous sects.
They had been forced from Spirit Province's fertile heartland to this desolate corner of the Northern Territory.
For a hundred years.
The Ghost Fire Sect had huddled in the Northern Territory, keeping a low profile and lying low.
To the outside world, it pretended to be a defeated remnant, struggling to survive.
In truth, it had endured hardship and bided its time, recuperating and secretly building its strength.
Across the Northern Wilderness Mountains, the Ghost Fire Sect had carved out hundreds of cavernous halls and underground palaces.
They stretched in layer upon layer for hundreds of miles, forming a vast underground sect compound.
The sun never shone there. Yin energy gathered, and ghostly flames flickered everywhere.
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This was now the Ghost Fire Sect's central stronghold.
In the deepest layer, in the main cavern hall.
The entire hall was built of black stone, its walls carved with patterns of dim ghostly flames.
Eerie green-blue ghost flames floated beneath the vaulted ceiling, flickering as they illuminated the entire hall.
It was cold and murderous, its oppressive air bearing down on all who entered.
A figure sat high upon the central seat.
He wore a black robe embroidered with dark dragon patterns and a dull black ghoul mask.
The mask hid his face, revealing only his mouth and a pair of fathomless eyes.
He was the Ghost Fire Sect's master, Liao Ze, at the late stage of Golden Core.
Six figures stood in neat rows on either side of the hall.
Their auras were steady and powerful, Golden Core spiritual energy faintly visible around them.
They were the Ghost Fire Sect's six great elders and protectors.
Every one of them was a Golden Core True Person!
Such strength was already far beyond the sect's broken state after its defeat a century earlier.
At the very center of the hall.
Four young disciples stood straight.
Their auras were young but fierce; each had a defiant look in his eyes and a murderous air about him.
All four were personal disciples of the sect master, Liao Ze.
They held exalted positions and each oversaw a different domain, spending much of their time abroad on assassination, ambush, and reconnaissance missions.
The young master, Liao Jun, stood at the head of the four.
Liao Jun stepped forward first and reported in a deep voice.
"Master, Elders."
"We infiltrated Azure Cloud Sect territory this time and hunted in several separate groups."
"Over the course of a month, we ambushed and killed a total of thirty-four Azure Cloud Sect outer- and inner-sect disciples."
"The only blemish was that one of my hunting squads, twenty-three strong, was ambushed by an unknown expert while encircling them in a valley. The whole squad was wiped out."
As his words fell.
A young disciple in blue, standing on the left among the four, suddenly gave a derisive laugh and spoke up.
"Heh."
"Thirty-four kills looks impressive."
"But the young master personally led the squad and still lost an elite team."
"Twenty-three elite members of the sect, all sent to their deaths."
"In the end, the young master was simply too careless and acted without due caution."
As soon as he said this.
The atmosphere in the hall instantly went rigid.
Liao Jun's gaze turned icy as he looked at him.
This disciple in blue was also Liao Ze's personal disciple. His name was Zhou Heng.
He was at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, exceptionally talented, and had always been at odds with Liao Jun.
Though the four were fellow disciples, they were also natural rivals.
They were all the sect master's personal disciples, and each was eligible to compete to become the sect's future successor.
On the surface, they kept the peace, but in private they competed and tried to undermine one another.
If they got hold of even the slightest bit of leverage, they would never let it go.
Zhou Heng continued in a calm voice, lacing his words with provocation.
"The four of us each struck at one of the four great righteous sects."
"I killed twenty-seven Cinnabar Cloud Sect disciples, without a single loss."
"The other two junior brothers also reaped rich results, and not one of their men was lost."
"Only the young master suffered losses."
"If word of this gets out, people will think the young master of the Ghost Fire Sect is all title and no substance."
Every word cut to the quick, driving straight at Liao Jun's weakness.
The other two disciples watched with their hands at their sides, saying nothing and taking neither side.
Liao Jun's face darkened completely, a vicious glint surging in his eyes.
"Zhou Heng!"
"The ambush in the valley was an unforeseen accident! The opponent concealed his cultivation and attacked from the shadows. It wasn't a failure of my command!"
"You suffered no losses only because the Cinnabar Cloud Sect was lax in its defenses. That was luck, nothing more!"
The two were instantly on the verge of exploding into a public quarrel.
The elders on either side remained impassive, silently watching the junior brothers compete among themselves.
In a Devil Dao sect, the strong devoured the weak.
Competition was what forged the strong.
Just as the two were about to erupt into an argument.
Liao Ze spoke calmly from the central seat.
"Enough."
The two immediately fell silent and drew back half a step, reining in their auras.
"All four of you did well on this expedition."
"By killing the righteous sects' young disciples, you've weakened their next generation."
"Your objective has been achieved."
"A few losses aren't worth dwelling on."
He neither punished Liao Jun nor showed favoritism toward Zhou Heng.
In his eyes, as long as the overall cause benefited, local losses were acceptable.