Task Complete

Qin Yuan frowned, raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, then slowly clenched them into a fist.

The air in the cavern abruptly solidified.

All the tentacles froze in midair, as though bound by invisible shackles. Then, a terrifying crushing force surged in from all directions—

Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!

All seventeen tentacles exploded into a mist of blood!

The blood pool boiled completely as a massive shadow rose from its depths—it was an indescribable monster, its body like a lump of rotting flesh, its surface covered in tentacles and eyes, with a huge maw lined with sharp teeth split open at its center.

The aura this monster emitted had astonishingly reached Foundation Establishment Early Stage!

No wonder those Qi Refining Stage disciples had gone in and never returned.

All the monster's eyes fixed tightly on Qin Yuan. Its huge mouth opened, releasing a shriek that pierced straight into the soul!

That was its innate divine ability, the "Soul-Seizing Shriek." Cultivators below Foundation Establishment who heard it would suffer trembling souls at best, or become witless on the spot at worst.

Qin Yuan merely picked at his ear.

"Loud."

He took a step forward, and his figure vanished from where he stood. When he reappeared, he was directly above the monster. He raised his right foot, then—

Stomped down.

There were no flashy moves, no techniques—only pure strength mixed with the vast spiritual power of the second layer of Foundation Establishment.

"Boom—!!!"

The entire cavern shook violently, with shattered rocks raining down. The monster did not even have time to scream before it was stomped apart alive by that single foot!

Flesh and blood flew everywhere, splattering the entire cavern, only to be deflected by the spiritual barrier around Qin Yuan.

The blood pool gradually calmed, its water visibly clearing at a rapid pace—the monster's death caused the evil aura within it to begin dissipating.

Qin Yuan landed, dusted off nonexistent dust from the corner of his robes, and put the three Yin Fiend Crystals into his storage pouch.

Just as he was about to leave, his Spiritual Sense suddenly swept over a corner of the cavern—beneath a pile of bones lay half a broken jade slip. He walked over and picked it up. The jade slip was icy cold in his hand, its surface engraved with blurred words: Blood Refinement True Method · Fragment.

An evil-path cultivation method.

After briefly scanning it, Qin Yuan understood that this was the source of that monster's birth—most likely, some evil cultivator had failed in cultivation here, and his body had mutated into that monster. Qin Yuan put away the jade slip. Though he would not cultivate it, it might prove useful someday.

He left the cavern and continued deeper inside.

White Bone Cave twisted and branched in every direction, with countless forks in the paths. Relying on his Spiritual Sense, far beyond that of ordinary people, Qin Yuan avoided several traps thick with yin energy. He also casually gathered several stalks of Yin Soul Grass growing in places of extreme yin—these were fine materials for alchemy as well.

After walking for roughly half an hour, he heard faint groaning from ahead.

Qin Yuan approached cautiously. After rounding a bend, he saw a figure curled up within a narrow crack in the rock.

The man wore the blue robes of the Xuan Yuan Sect's Inner Sect, but they were already tattered beyond recognition and covered in bloodstains.

His face was as pale as paper, his breath weak, and his left leg twisted at an unnatural angle. It was clearly broken.

Most fatal of all was the deep claw wound across his chest. Black qi coiled around it, and the wound was slowly festering.

Sensing someone approach, the man struggled to raise his head, revealing a young yet haggard face.

"Save... save me..." His voice was hoarse. "I'm Zhou Ming, an Inner Sect disciple of Tenth Peak... I was injured by that evil creature... I've been trapped here for three days..."

Qin Yuan did not step forward immediately. He carefully swept the other man with his Spiritual Sense, confirming that he was neither an illusion nor a trap before walking over and taking out a healing pill for him.

Zhou Ming accepted the pill and swallowed it. Some color returned to his face as he hurriedly said, "Thank you, Junior Brother... no, may I ask which peak Senior Brother is from? This place is not safe to linger in. That evil creature is a Yin Corpse Spider with Foundation Establishment Early Stage strength. It excels at sneak attacks—I was severely wounded when it ambushed me... We must leave quickly and seek help!"

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"Yin Corpse Spider?" Qin Yuan recalled the monster from earlier and shook his head. "It's already dead."

Zhou Ming froze. "Dead... dead? Who killed it?"

"Me."

Zhou Ming's eyes widened as he looked Qin Yuan up and down. Only then did he realize in shock that this "Junior Brother" wearing an Outer Sect gray robe possessed an aura as deep as the sea—he could not see through Qin Yuan at all!

"You... you've reached Foundation Establishment?!"

Qin Yuan did not answer. "How did you get trapped here?"

Zhou Ming gave a bitter smile. "I also accepted a White Bone Cave mission to collect Yin Fiend Crystals. I never expected to be ambushed by that Yin Corpse Spider shortly after entering the cave.

I fought desperately and injured one of its eyes, then escaped here and used my last Concealment Talisman to hide. But it kept guarding the area nearby... For these past three days, I've survived only on Fasting Pills and half a flask of water in my arms."

He paused, suddenly recalling something. "Right, Senior Brother, did you come for Yin Fiend Crystals as well? Those things are above the blood pool, guarded by an evil creature, and extremely dangerous! We should leave first and gather more people before returning—"

"I already got them." Qin Yuan took out the three Yin Fiend Crystals and showed them to him.

Zhou Ming stood there with his mouth open, unable to say a word for a long while.

"Can you walk?" Qin Yuan asked.

Zhou Ming tried to stand, but agonizing pain shot through his broken leg. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Senior Brother, you should go first. My leg is broken—I'll only hold you back. Once you get out, please make sure to inform the Tenth Peak elder. He'll send someone to rescue me..."

Qin Yuan said nothing. He crouched down and pressed a hand against Zhou Ming's broken leg.

Spiritual power poured in, forcibly setting the misaligned bones back into place. Then Qin Yuan used two wooden boards to brace it and tore off a strip of cloth from his robe to bind it in place.

"Endure it." He took out a Divine Movement Talisman and stuck it onto Zhou Ming. "This talisman will let you walk normally for half an hour. That's enough to get out of the cave."

Zhou Ming's eyes reddened with emotion. "Senior Brother's great kindness—I, Zhou Ming, will surely repay it!"

The two headed outward, one before the other. With Qin Yuan clearing the way, the yin-energy evil creatures along the route all retreated.

Following behind, Zhou Ming watched Qin Yuan casually shatter blocking wandering souls with a single streak of sword light. The shock in his heart grew ever stronger—this Senior Brother's strength was likely not limited to Foundation Establishment Early Stage!

In less than a quarter of an hour, the two left White Bone Cave.

Seeing daylight again, Zhou Ming let out a long breath of foul air and gave Qin Yuan a deep bow. "Senior Brother, I will remember your life-saving grace in my heart! Might I ask Senior Brother's name?"

"Qin Yuan."

"I, Zhou, will never forget Qin Senior Brother's kindness today!" Zhou Ming said solemnly. "Should Senior Brother ever have need of me, I will brave mountains of blades and seas of fire without hesitation!"

Qin Yuan nodded. "Return to your peak and treat your injuries quickly."

Zhou Ming bowed once more before limping toward Tenth Peak.

Qin Yuan watched his retreating back, then turned and headed toward the Mission Hall.

By the time he returned to the Mission Hall, it was already afternoon.

When the steward saw Qin Yuan return unscathed, surprise flashed through his eyes. Especially when Qin Yuan took out three Yin Fiend Crystals, that surprise became disbelief.

"You... really completed it?" After inspecting the Yin Fiend Crystals and confirming they were genuine, even the steward's voice changed. "The evil creature in White Bone Cave..."

"Dead," Qin Yuan said indifferently.

The steward gave him a long look but asked no further questions. He handed over the reward in full: three hundred Mid-grade Spirit Crystals and a bottle containing three Core Condensing Pills.

As Qin Yuan left the hall, he could sense several gazes spying on him from the shadows—likely Third Peak's watchers. He paid them no mind and returned directly to his Outer Sect hut.

He shut the door and took out all of his gains.