In the little yard of Sunset Glow Courtyard, Mao Mao, the golden-furred giant rat, was still sniffing around, his gleaming golden tail swishing back and forth. Peace and tranquility filled the courtyard.
Yet in an abandoned, dilapidated mountain god temple a hundred li away, a sinister, pitch-black aura was surging wildly.
This was a run-down little mountain village, and its temple had fallen into disuse as well. Remnants of incense ash littered the temple floor, and the deity's statue had long since crumbled beyond recognition. Inside the mountain god temple, which had not seen a visitor in who knew how long, a black-clad figure sat cross-legged beneath the statue. He was none other than Flower Plucker, the wicked demonic martial expert wanted by the Imperial Court.
Wisps of gray-black energy coiled around him, and his bones occasionally gave off faint, rapid cracking sounds. These were the sounds produced when someone in the late Bone Tempering Realm tempered their bones to the utmost. As the demonic expert Flower Thief circulated his cultivation technique, waves of savage, powerful energy slowly awakened deep within his body.
Layer after layer of black inner qi periodically surged out around Flower Plucker. A terrifying power coursed through his limbs and bones, and his aura climbed slowly, step by step. The barrier that had kept him trapped at the peak Bone Tempering Realm now seemed to be tottering.
"Soon... With all the blood essence and yin essence I've absorbed this time, another few dozen days at most, and I'll step into the Bright Force Realm!"
Flower Thief's eyes were fierce, and a savage smile curled his lips. Turning his palm over, he took out several evil-path pills and shoved them into his mouth. The instant they slid down his throat, they dissolved into billowing medicinal power, which