In the sky, the man in black raced toward them, his sharp gaze like an eagle's eyes as he coldly swept over the entire village.
A moment later, the man in black hovered directly above the village.
Black qi coiled around his body. His robes fluttered without wind, stirring gusts of sinister chill, while an eerie, malevolent aura filled his entire being.
"Who is Su Mingren?!"
The cold, hoarse voice made everyone shudder in fear.
Was this an Immortal? He looked terrifying!
He had come for Su Mingren? Since when had the village chief gotten involved with an Immortal?
Hearing the commotion, many villagers cautiously poked their heads out and stared at the man in black in the sky.
In the open space, Su Mingren looked up at the newcomer, his heart tightening as a powerful sense of foreboding surged within him.
He was looking for me. So he really came for that Pill Furnace?
Just as he hesitated over whether to answer.
"Hmph! Is no one going to speak?!"
Seeing that no one answered, the man in black gave a muffled snort in midair.
A dense, sinister aura poured from his body and blanketed the entire mountain village.
The next instant, everyone felt as though they had fallen into an ice cellar, their bodies turning cold.
Seeing that the man in black was about to fly into a rage, Su Mingren hurriedly said, "Exalted Immortal, I am Su Mingren. May I ask what business the Exalted Immortal has with me?"
Hearing his voice, the man in black swayed lightly in the air and transformed into a streak of light, arriving before Su Mingren.
His gaze scrutinized Su Mingren. Cold light flickered in the man in black's eyes as he said gloomily, "Hand over the Precious Furnace, or die!!!"
Su Mingren shuddered, his heart leaping into his throat, but he feigned calmness. "Precious Furnace? What Precious Furnace? Exalted Immortal, I... I do not understand what you mean."
The man in black's eyes turned cold. With a wave of his hand, True Yuan transformed into a gust of force and sent Su Mingren flying.
He stared at Su Mingren as though he were looking at an ant. "Old fool, since I was able to find this place, do you really think I know nothing?"
"If you obediently hand over your family's inherited Precious Furnace today, everything can still be discussed."
"Otherwise, it will not be only you who dies today. Everyone in this entire village will die!!"
As he spoke, the man in black walked toward Su Mingren step by step, dense killing intent spreading through the entire village.
The watching villagers felt as though the sky were about to collapse. Terrified out of their wits, they hurriedly shouted at Su Mingren on the ground.
"Village Chief, if you really have some kind of furnace, just give it to this Immortal Master!"
"Exactly! There's no need to anger the Immortal Master over some Precious Furnace."
"Immortal Master, please do not be angry! We've lived here for so many years and have never heard of the village chief's family having any Precious Furnace!"
Su Mingren crashed heavily to the ground. His old arms and legs were already frail, and the fall broke several more ribs. The pain made his face twist.
From a haystack not far away, Su Shi'er saw every bit of it.
Seeing his grandfather injured, he
felt his heart tighten. Clutching the Pill Furnace in his hand, he was about to rush out and save his grandfather.
To him, no matter how precious the Pill Furnace was, it could not compare to his grandfather's life.
But just as he prepared to go out and hand over the Pill Furnace.
His grandfather's warning from moments ago surfaced in his mind.
No matter what happened, he must never go out!
Remembering his grandfather's words, Su Shi'er hesitated.
On the ground, Su Mingren noticed the haystack tremble slightly. Enduring the pain, he continued, "Exalted Immortal, I... I truly do not know what this Precious Furnace you speak of is!"
Su Mingren had grown shrewd with age. From the moment he learned the other party's purpose, he knew that whether he handed over the Pill Furnace or not, neither he nor the villagers would escape death today.
Now, the only thing he could do was preserve his grandson's life.
Hearing this, the cold light in the man in black's eyes intensified. He let out a string of strange laughter. "Heh heh... old fool, are you seeking death? What a pity... it seems I can only search for it myself!"
The man in black shook his head, and his gaze turned cruel.
After saying that, he activated the True Yuan within him and formed a sword incantation with his fingers. An ink-black flying sword shot out from behind his back. It hovered in the air, spinning rapidly.
Then sword light filled the sky. Every streak of sword light transformed into a life-reaping skull and swooped down at the villagers.
Seeing this, all the villagers were terrified senseless. Only a few reacted quickly enough to turn and flee at once.
"No... don't!"
"Immortal, spare us, spare us!"
"Please let us go! We do not know anything!"
Feeling death's threat, the villagers were overcome with terror and instinctively begged for mercy.
But before an immortal cultivator like the man in black, who could soar through the heavens and burrow into the earth, they were no different from ants. Under the assault of that sinister sword qi, death came in no more than an instant!
In the blink of an eye, blood flowed like a river through Little Stone Village, and the thick stench of blood filled the air.
Su Mingren lay on the ground, his eyes full of rage and despair.
Though he had long prepared himself for death, seeing the villagers slaughtered so miserably still filled him with boundless grief.
In the haystack, Su Shi'er was also frightened by the scene. He lay prone on the ground, his hands and feet icy cold, as though he had fallen into an ice cave.
What Immortal was this? He was clearly a bloodthirsty demon!
At that moment, the man in black walked up to Su Mingren with a sneer. "Old fool, do you see? They all died because of you!"
"I'll give you one more chance. Hand over the Precious Furnace!"
The man in black reached out, and the flying sword fell into his hand, its tip pointed directly at Su Mingren.
Black mist roiled around his body, releasing a terrifying pressure.
Lying on the ground, Su Mingren felt as though he would suffocate from that pressure alone.
Yet he shook his head resolutely. "No!"
The man in black's gaze turned cold. He drove the flying sword with True Yuan, and a Skull Sword Qi flew out, biting off Su Mingren's arm in one bite.
"How about now?!"
The agony left Su Mingren half-dead, but he gritted his teeth and shouted, "I... I truly do not know anything about a Precious Furnace!"
"Hmph! Since that is the case, there is no need for you to continue living!" The man in black snorted coldly, and another Skull Sword Qi shot out, rushing straight for Su Mingren's heart.
"No... don't..."
From the haystack, Su Shi'er watched helplessly as it happened and opened his mouth to scream. But though his mouth was open, he could not produce even the slightest sound.
He clenched the Pill Furnace tightly, wanting to rush out and save his grandfather, but he had already been frightened out of his wits and was now under the crushing pressure of the man in black's powerful aura.
Su Shi'er lay flat on the ground, feeling as though a force of a thousand catties weighed upon him, leaving him completely unable to move.
Pfft!
The next second, a muffled sound rang out as the skull-like sword qi pierced through Su Mingren's heart.
A fist-sized hole appeared in Su Mingren's chest. His head tilted to one side, and he died on the spot!
Seeing his grandfather lying in a pool of blood, Su Shi'er's pupils suddenly contracted. His heart clenched, and overcome by unbearable grief, he fainted on the spot.
In the mountain village, the man in black did not pay any attention to the haystack in the open space. Instead, he went from house to house, entering every courtyard to search.
To him, slaughtering the entire village was no more significant than doing something trivial!
From dusk until late at night, the man in black searched every room in the village. From the roof beams to the cellars, he spared nothing, yet found nothing.
Though his strength was formidable, releasing divine sense was something only Golden Pill Cultivators could do.
Little Stone Village lay close to Heavenly Absolute Peak, a forbidden land among cultivators. Golden Pill Cultivators were rarely seen to begin with, and even if one came here, he would suffer an inexplicable suppression.
Two hours later, the man in black returned to Su Mingren's corpse. After confirming that Su Mingren did not have what he sought either, he grew somewhat annoyed.
"Damn it! Could the information really have been wrong? Or did someone get there first?"
"Forget it. It seems I can only find another way to search for clues!"
With that, the man in black leaped into the air, transforming into a streak of light that shot toward the horizon.
He had never imagined that right where he had descended, a half-grown child was hidden!
This was the so-called most dangerous place being the safest place!
An hour later, the man in black concealed himself in the night and descended silently once more.
Seeing that the scene remained unchanged, he shook his head helplessly and departed on his sword.
Su Shi'er remained unconscious for two hours. Only when the sky began to brighten did he suddenly twitch and awaken, breaking out in a cold sweat.
While unconscious, his mind had been filled with images of that skull-like monster killing his grandfather.
The first thing Su Shi'er did after waking
was look outside. He only hoped that everything which had happened yesterday had been nothing more than a nightmare.
But it was all wishful thinking.
Before his eyes, his grandfather lay motionless in a pool of blood.
Su Shi'er trembled from head to toe. Rolling and crawling, he emerged from the haystack and came to Su Mingren's side.
"Grandpa... Grandpa... wake up. I... I'll never call you old man again!"
"Wake up, please! I'm begging you... say something to me!"
Su Shi'er held Su Mingren in his arms and called out again and again, tears streaming endlessly like pearls from a snapped string.
But no matter how he cried out, the man on the ground gave no response at all.
Holding his grandfather's body, Su Shi'er cried until the sun rose, until his tears had run dry, until two bloody tears flowed from his eyes.
He fainted several times in succession. Only after his voice had grown hoarse and he could no longer cry did he lower his head to look at the Pill Furnace in his arms.
"It was all because of you! If it weren't for you, Grandpa would not have died, and no one else would have died either!"
Su Shi'er angrily grabbed the Pill Furnace. In his eyes, it was the culprit that had killed everyone. Without this Pill Furnace, none of this would have happened.
If he could exchange it for his grandfather's life, he would do so without the slightest hesitation.
Clenching the Pill Furnace tightly, he hurled it away in fury.
Watching the Pill Furnace roll across the ground, he hesitated, then went forward and picked it up again.
"This Pill Furnace is the last thing Grandpa left me. I must not lose it."
"Besides, even those Immortals wanted this thing. It must be some kind of treasure. If I want to avenge Grandpa and everyone else, I can only rely on this treasure. I just do not know how to use this Pill Furnace."
"Maybe... once I learn the Immortal Arts, I will know how to use it!"
Su Shi'er took a deep breath and tucked the Pill Furnace back into his chest.
Then, suppressing his grief, he found an iron shovel and dug one large pit after another in the village square, burying his grandfather and all the villagers.
By the following evening, a crude Hundred-Person Grave had appeared in the open space at the center of the village.
Su Shi'er knelt before the graves of his grandfather and the others, sobbing once more.
But he held it in and did not let his tears fall again. Silently, he told himself that today would be the last time he cried. From this day onward, he had only one goal: revenge. No matter what suffering he encountered, he would never shed tears again.
"Grandpa, that man in black is powerful. If I want to deal with him, I can only enter an immortal sect and learn the Immortal Arts. Perhaps only after mastering the Immortal Arts will I understand this furnace's purpose!"
"Little Fatty said that an Immortal has been accepting disciples in Huilong Town these past few days. I plan to go and see!"
"No matter what, I will definitely avenge you and everyone else!"
Su Shi'er spoke softly. He looked at the Pill Furnace in his chest, then bang, bang, bang—knocked his head four times against his grandfather's grave.
Then he rose resolutely, gritted his teeth, and ran toward Huilong Town.
Before you continue