On the outskirts of Black Wind Ridge lay a sinister valley called Ghost Cry Ravine. Though it was not part of the core territory of the Black Fiend Cult Headquarters Altar, it produced abundant yin soul stones, auxiliary materials used to refine several kinds of ghostly soul artifacts. An elite squad of cult disciples was stationed there year-round to mine them, under the supervision of a Foundation Establishment Early Stage steward.
The moon was dark and the wind fierce. Cold yin winds howled through the ravine like a hundred ghosts wailing in the night. At the mine entrance, several lanterns burning with eerie green ghostfire swayed, illuminating four late-stage Qi Refining disciples dressed in Black Fiend Cult robes. They patrolled listlessly, grumbling about their miserable assignment.
"Damn it, this hellhole is so thick with yin energy it'll kill you. Stay here long enough and it'll shave years off your life!"
"Quit complaining. I heard the Headquarters Altar went into lockdown a couple of days ago. Apparently, some powerful enemy's been spying on them. At least things are quiet here."
"Quiet, my ass! I heard Steward Mo went down over at Poison Dragon Marsh, and an entire patrol was wiped out with him. It must've been those hypocrites from the Seven Mysteries Sect!"
"Hmph. Once the Cult Master perfects his divine art, we'll wash the Seven Mysteries Sect in blood..."
As they spoke in hushed voices, none of them noticed a faint silhouette, almost indistinguishable from the darkness, slipping soundlessly into the depths of the mine like a weightless ghost. It avoided every rudimentary warning ward with movements so precise they seemed to have been rehearsed countless times.
Deep inside the mine, in a somewhat spacious stone chamber, the Foundation Establishment Early Stage steward Wu Chou sat cross-legged within a crude Yin-Gathering Formation, absorbing the dense yin energy as he cultivated. His face was withered and his gaze sinister. One of the Black Fiend Cult's trusted outer-territory leaders, he oversaw the mining and transport of the yin soul stones here.
Suddenly, his heart jolted without warning, and a chill shot up from his tailbone! Instinct honed through years of struggling on the edge of death drove him to activate his protective artifact and dodge aside without a moment's thought!
But he was already too late!
An extraordinarily condensed black thread, so fine it was almost imperceptible, seemed to have anticipated his every response. Just as he was about to move, it coiled around his neck like a venomous snake!
"Urgh..." Wu Chou's pupils dilated, his eyes filling with terror and disbelief! His Foundation Establishment Early Stage protective aura was as fragile as paper before that black thread! Worse still, a strange energy, cold and deathly still, surged through the thread into his body with terrifying corrosive power. It froze his spiritual power and clamped down on his soul, leaving him unable even to self-detonate!
Soul Searching Technique!
An overbearing divine sense forced its way into his sea of consciousness and brutally rifled through his memories: the defenses of the Black Fiend Cult Headquarters Altar, the number of its experts, its recent movements, and... the full details of the Han family's extermination in Mirror Province!
Several breaths later, the light in Wu Chou's eyes went out completely. He collapsed limply to the ground, utterly lifeless. Even in death, he had never seen who had killed him.
The faint silhouette took solid form, revealing Han Li. Expressionless, he withdrew the thread formed by the Shadow Blade, his gaze as cold as ice frozen for ten thousand years. From Wu Chou's memories, he had not only confirmed that the Black Fiend Cult was responsible for slaughtering the Han family, but also seen the faces of several minor leaders who had carried out the massacre and learned where they were currently stationed.
"Black Fiend Cult... I'll start collecting the interest on your blood debt." Han Li murmured, his voice utterly flat, holding only bone-chilling killing intent.
He swiftly took Wu Chou's Storage Bag, then flicked out a wisp of Profound Fiend True Flame to reduce the corpse to ashes and erase every trace. The entire process was clean and efficient, without the slightest disturbance.
A moment later, his figure melted into the darkness once more, and he left Ghost Cry Ravine like a phantom.
Over the following days, a series of bizarre murders occurred throughout the outer territories of Black Wind Ridge.
Crow Granny, a Qi Refining Great Perfection leader stationed at the Blood Crow Forest resource site, was found dead in her own meditation chamber late at night. All the blood essence had been drained from her body, leaving a dried corpse. Only a barely perceptible trace of icy yin energy remained at the scene.
Steward Poison Elder, who had been escorting a shipment of important supplies to a branch headquarters, was wiped out along with more than a dozen elite disciples under his command while passing through the treacherous Skyline Gorge. By the time their bodies were discovered, they were severely decomposed, as though decades had scoured them away. Their deaths were uncanny.
A squad patrolling the outskirts vanished without explanation. Several days later, they were found in Shadow Creek, every one of them slain by a single sword cut to the throat. Faint black fiendish energy lingered around their wounds—the unmistakable hallmark of the Profound Fiend Asura Art!
The dead were all mid-ranking leaders or elites of the Black Fiend Cult's outer territories. Their deaths differed, but every killing had been swift and clean, with almost no signs of a struggle. Clearly, an expert far stronger than them had crushed them in an instant! Moreover, the killer was exceptionally cautious, coming and going without a trace. Even the Foundation Establishment stewards sent from the Headquarters Altar to investigate could find no useful clues.
For a time, panic gripped the Black Fiend Cult's outer forces, and all manner of terrifying rumors spread. Some said an old Nascent Soul monster had passed through and casually meted out punishment. Others claimed a rival sect had sent a top assassin. Still others whispered that the Headquarters Altar had offended a lone expert who practiced some bizarre demonic art, bringing this vengeance upon themselves.
The Black Fiend Cult's senior leadership flew into a rage. They strengthened the Headquarters Altar's defenses and dispatched several Foundation Establishment Middle Stage elders to lead search parties, yet their efforts yielded nothing. The killer seemed to have vanished into thin air.
By then, Han Li was already a thousand miles away, in a cave on a barren mountain.
He sat cross-legged, several Storage Bags arranged before him—the spoils of this "hunt." Besides ordinary resources such as spirit stones and pills, he had obtained from Wu Chou's memories a detailed map of the outer defenses of the Black Fiend Cult Headquarters Altar, along with information on several weak points through which he might infiltrate.
"Late-stage Foundation Establishment... a grand cult-protection formation..." Han Li digested what he had learned, his gaze flickering. The Black Fiend Cult Master was a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and a powerful formation guarded the Headquarters Altar. With his current Foundation Establishment Early Stage strength, a frontal assault would be no different from hurling an egg against a rock.
"My strength... still isn't enough." Han Li clenched his fists until his knuckles whitened. His family's horrific fate and the blood debt owed for his parents burned at his heart day and night like poisonous fire. But he knew that seeking revenge in a fit of impulse would only throw his life away, delighting his enemies and grieving those who cared for him.
"I must reach Foundation Establishment Middle Stage as quickly as possible—even the late stage! And I need to find a way to counter their formation or cultivation art!"
He put away the Storage Bags, his gaze turning cold and resolute again. The killings in the outer territories were merely the beginning-an outlet for his fury, and a means of gathering resources. He needed greater power, and even more than that, the perfect opportunity.
"Black Fiend Cult... enjoy these last days of peace. The day I perfect my divine art will be the day your cult is destroyed!"
A blood debt had to be repaid in blood. But vengeance could be pursued more intelligently-and more lethally.
Han Li closed his eyes and began circulating the Profound Fiend Asura Art, devouring and refining the pure blood essence and soul power gained from these kills. His cultivation advanced steadily toward the peak of Foundation Establishment Early Stage.
The hunt in the dark had drawn to a temporary close, but a far more terrifying storm was silently brewing. The Black Fiend Cult's nightmare had only just begun.
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