Aftermath

Outside the Linked Mountains City government office.

Shi Tianxing covered his nose, his expression utterly unpleasant.

Though it was not midsummer, the pile of minced flesh was far too thoroughly shredded. It had already begun to rot and stink, with flies and maggots crawling everywhere.

As a disciple of the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance, Shi Tianxing was young, but he had killed quite a few people.

Yet even he found the disgusting scene before him difficult to accept.

Murong Li, meanwhile, crouched before the pile of flesh and Yuan Dongtian's corpse, examining them carefully.

"Aside from Yuan Dongtian, there were at least four and at most five people in that pile of flesh.

They died to Guanyin's Tears, a high-grade hidden weapon of the Divine Mechanism Sect.

When the Bodhisattva lowered her eyes, Guanyin shed tears.

Only those who had reached the True Condensation Realm, who could transform true qi into true essence and release it to protect their bodies, could effectively resist such an attack.

Using Guanyin's Tears to kill Yuan Dongtian and the others was rather wasteful."

Shi Tianxing frowned. "The attacker was from the Divine Mechanism Sect?"

Murong Li looked at Shi Tianxing as though he were an idiot.

Why had the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance sent such an immature young man?

"If the Divine Mechanism Sect had acted, he would not have used Guanyin's Tears. He used Guanyin's Tears because it was the only method he had at the time that could wipe out Yuan Dongtian and the others."

Murong Li rose to his feet. "Let's go down and take a look."

The two followed the passage underground and saw the murals as well.

The more they looked, the graver their expressions became.

By the time they reached the depths and saw the altar, their expressions had completely changed.

There was writing on the murals, but it was in the ancient script of some minor clan that they could not understand.

Still, from the murals alone, they could tell that this small clan had been conducting a blood sacrifice to something resembling a stone stele.

"The Seven Kill Stele!"

Murong Li spoke those three words in a complicated tone.

Martial artists born into the top powers of the martial world were required to learn certain things.

One of them was the appearance and characteristics of the various Divine Weapons and Demonic Arms recorded in historical materials and legends.

Something that looked like a stone stele and required blood sacrifice had a ninety percent chance of being the Seven Kill Stele.

Jiang Kaitai and Murong Qing's corpses were still inside.

After examining the bodies, Murong Li had reconstructed most of what had happened at the scene.

"Jiang Kaitai harbored wolfish ambitions. He began a blood sacrifice within Linked Mountains City, hoping to seize the Divine Weapon, the Seven Kill Stele, but Murong Qing discovered him and tried to stop him.

There are wounds on his body left by our Murong Clan's Dragon City Swordsmanship.

But a third person profited from their conflict below. He killed Jiang Kaitai first, then heavily injured Murong Qing.

There are traces of a grappling technique on Murong Qing's body. Though it is an unorthodox trick unfit for the grand stage, it is rather ingenious. I cannot identify its origins.

He did not kill Murong Qing directly because he needed Murong Qing's bloodline power to activate the Divine-Artifact Avatar of Starshift and use it to transfer the Blood Fiend Power from the Seven Kill Stele.

Then, after he left, he ran headlong into Yuan Dongtian and the others. By then, his strength should have been exhausted, so he used Guanyin's Tears to wipe them out."

Murong Li calmly analyzed the events of that time, reconstructing nearly the entire sequence of the three men's battle.

"For this person to seize the Seven Kill Stele in the end, he must have been intimately familiar with the characteristics of Divine Weapons.

He even knew to use the Murong Clan's bloodline power to drive the Divine-Artifact Avatar of Starshift. He must also know the Murong Clan extremely well, so his background should be far from ordinary.

Damn it! Who dared to scheme against my Murong Clan?

If my Murong Clan finds out, we will tear him into ten thousand pieces!"

Murong Li's face twisted with a savage expression.

That was the supreme Divine Weapon, the Seven Kill Stele!

Among Divine Weapons and Demonic Arms, the Seven Kill Stele ranked among the very best in slaughtering power!

He shared Murong Qing's thoughts. If they could obtain the Seven Kill Stele, the Murong Clan's strength would surely surge, and restoring their nation might truly become possible.

At that moment, Murong Li suddenly turned his gaze toward Shi Tianxing.

Someone familiar with the traits of Divine Weapons and deeply knowledgeable about the Murong Clan most closely fit the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance.

Moreover, the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance had risen from humble roots. Its only inherited martial art was Sun-Piercing Swordsmanship, while its other techniques were a mixed assortment, including quite a few grappling arts.

It was no wonder Murong Li had immediately raised his estimation of the suspect's background by several levels.

There were some things that people from the lower levels of the martial world simply could not come into contact with.

They had only heard the names of many Divine Weapons and Demonic Arms and had no concept of their power.

Most people had never even seen what the Murong Clan's Starshift looked like. How could they possibly know that Starshift needed the Murong Clan's bloodline power to activate it?

Shi Tianxing was secretly regretful as well.

This was the Divine Weapon, the Seven Kill Stele!

Just as the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance's divine weapon was having problems, obtaining the Seven Kill Stele could have resolved the alliance's crisis.

Had they known earlier, the alliance should not have hesitated and delayed. They should have immediately sent people here.

Still, he did not regret it as much as the Murong Clan did.

The One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance had simply arrived too late, while the Murong Clan had been involved yet still lost the Divine Weapon. They were worse off.

When he noticed Murong Li's gaze, Shi Tianxing immediately understood and hurriedly said, "You do not suspect the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance, do you?

If our One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance had known that the Seven Kill Stele was buried beneath Linked Mountains City, we would have mobilized everyone, sealed off Linked Mountains City, and seized the Divine Weapon directly. Why would we need to scheme like this?"

Murong Li withdrew his gaze and let out a long breath.

He knew Shi Tianxing's words made sense. It probably was not the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance.

But then Murong Li suddenly drew the sword at his waist. Sword qi surged forth, directly slicing Jiang Kaitai's corpse into pieces.

"That old dog Jiang Kaitai truly deserved to die!"

Compared to Murong Qing, Murong Li was much older and more composed in his actions.

But even so, Jiang Kaitai had enraged him beyond measure.

Without the Murong Clan's support back then, how could Jiang Kaitai, an outsider, have gained a foothold in Linked Mountains City?

Yet that old dog had harbored evil intentions all along, concealing news of the Divine Weapon.

The Seven Kill Stele had been buried beneath the Murong Clan's territory, yet the Murong Clan could only watch helplessly as the Divine Weapon vanished.

The feeling was unbearable.

"Young Friend Shi, lend me the Blackwater Gang under your One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance."

Shi Tianxing was startled.

"What does Senior Murong intend to do?"

A savage killing intent appeared in Murong Li's eyes. "There is no need to keep disobedient dogs. That old dog Jiang Kaitai is dead, but the Heavenly Wolf Gang remains.

Help me surround and slaughter the Heavenly Wolf Gang. Exterminate every person who ever joined the Heavenly Wolf Gang, as well as anyone connected to it. Leave none alive!"

Shi Tianxing nodded, feeling that there was nothing wrong with it.

The Murong Clan had suffered a massive loss. Not only had the Divine Weapon vanished, but one of their direct descendants had also died.

Given the Murong Clan's petty nature, they would certainly do something to vent their anger.

And the Heavenly Wolf Gang would be the target of the Murong Clan's fury.

If anyone was to blame, it was their bad luck in having Jiang Kaitai as their gang leader.

As for whether this would affect the Murong Clan's reputation, no one would care.

Great clans and major sects had always treated these lower-level powers as they pleased, killing or sparing them without restraint.

So long as the Murong Clan did not directly massacre the city, no one in the martial world would say much. At most, they would remark that the Heavenly Wolf Gang had simply been unlucky.

After the two left, a massacre targeting the Heavenly Wolf Gang began.

Several thousand Heavenly Wolf Gang members died miserable deaths. Only a small number with foresight managed to escape with their lives.

The Murong Clan had originally intended to exterminate them all.

But because they could not find the Heavenly Wolf Gang's roster, they had no choice but to let the matter rest.

Still, the Murong Clan released a message: if any of their subordinate forces heard someone claim to be from the Heavenly Wolf Gang, they could kill that person immediately and claim a reward from the Murong Clan afterward.

The turmoil in Linked Mountains City no longer had anything to do with Chen Yuan.

In a barren mountain five hundred li from Linked Mountains City, Chen Yuan had already spent seven days recovering from his injuries in a cave.

After leaving that night, Chen Yuan rode at full speed. Only after he had run one horse to death did he buy some dry rations along the road and retreat into the barren mountains to treat his injuries.

In truth, Chen Yuan had not suffered many injuries. His only external wound was a gash torn open by Murong Qing's sword qi, and it was not serious.

What was truly serious were the burns to his meridians left behind by the Fire Dragon Pill.

The moment he used internal force, searing pain would shoot through his meridians. The burns would worsen as well, with even the risk of his meridians rupturing.

Thus, after leaving the vicinity of Linked Mountains City, Chen Yuan immediately found a place to recuperate and restore his strength.

Fortunately, among the pills he had obtained before was a bottle of Essence-Restoring Blood-Coalescing Pills. In only seven days, the injuries to his meridians had completely healed.

Chen Yuan sat cross-legged on the ground. Internal force gathered in his hand, but the blood and qi within his body immediately began to churn, rapidly transforming into dark crimson, chilling Blood Fiend True Qi.

Yet the true qi seemed beyond his control. It grew increasingly vigorous as the blood and qi in his body surged faster and faster, its consumption skyrocketing. Even Chen Yuan's veins swelled along with it, making him look utterly terrifying.

The internal force around Chen Yuan desperately circulated, forcibly suppressing the boiling blood and qi.

Then he suddenly struck the stone wall beside him with his palm. The powerful Blood Fiend True Qi instantly branded a deep crimson palm print into the stone.

"It is still somewhat beyond my control."

Chen Yuan sighed and gently shook his head.

He now had one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.

The good news was that Chen Yuan had entered the fourth realm of martial arts, the Qi Forging Realm, and successfully condensed true qi.

After the Seven Kill Stele entered his body, although Chen Yuan had used Starshift to transfer away most of the Blood Fiend Power's impact, a small portion had still entered his body.

Under the impact of that Blood Fiend Power, some of the impurities in Chen Yuan's body had been thoroughly purged by its tyrannical force.

After recovering from his injuries, Chen Yuan's blood and qi had become as thick as silver mercury, pure and flawless. He had completely reached the peak of the Blood-Shifting Realm.

When Chen Yuan attempted to condense internal force and forge true qi, he succeeded with astonishing ease, ignoring the bottleneck and directly entering the Qi Forging Realm.

Ordinary martial artists needed to rely on slow, grinding effort to reach the peak of the Blood-Shifting Realm, constantly refining the impurities from their blood and qi.

Even disciples of supreme great clans like the Murong Clan, supported by countless rare treasures and medicinal herbs, required several months or even one or two years to complete Blood Shifting.

Chen Yuan had crossed the Blood-Shifting Realm in an instant through the Blood Fiend Power's impact. It was practically like riding a rocket.

But the bad news was that his strength was still somewhat lacking. After the Seven Kill Stele entered his body, he was unable to completely control this Blood Fiend Power.