Night.
Thunderfire Peak.
Boom!
Spell arts flashed through the woods.
Jin Zhouheng slipped into the darkness and hurried away, unwilling to give up.
After three months in the Heavenly Sound Sect, he had finally figured out where that man lived and even learned how strong he was.
Tonight had been the perfect time to strike, but the Law Enforcement Hall had discovered him and begun hunting him down.
If someone had not urgently warned him, he might already have been gravely wounded and captured.
When dealing with an infiltrator like him, the Heavenly Sound Sect usually squeezed out every last scrap of value.
Then they would throw him into the Heavenless Tower, drain away all his cultivation, and leave him to die inside or at the Mining Grounds.
He had long heard of the Demonic Sect's ways.
Death was not frightening. What frightened him was dying before finishing what he had come to do.
"If I'd known, I wouldn't have hesitated. I should have struck the first time I saw him."
Jin Zhouheng felt some regret. He had thought he could leave safely.
Who could have known he would be discovered?
He had come well prepared, and as an outer sect disciple at Qi Refining, his chances of drawing attention had been practically zero.
The Heavenly Sound Sect would not keep screening everyone, either.
Yet he had still been exposed.
Who exactly had done it?
Boom!
Spell arts kept bombarding him.
He did not try to escape. Instead, he headed for Jiang Hao, intending to kill him first and figure out the rest afterward.
Late at night.
Jiang Hao's brows were tightly furrowed.
Purple qi churned ceaselessly within his body, and power surged through his meridians.
That power gathered in his Dantian, seemingly compressing against itself.
Once all that power was compressed together, it could undergo a qualitative transformation.
Yet even after a long time, the power still would not merge into one.
This was a bottleneck.
Jiang Hao did not grow anxious. Instead, he circulated the Primordial Chaos Heart Scripture, methodically regulating the power to help it merge quickly.
In the silent night.
Purple qi wreathed Jiang Hao's entire body. When his spiritual energy and blood essence were completely exhausted, a crack rang out from within him.
It was the sound of the bottleneck shattering.
A tiny golden core coalesced in his Dantian, then began absorbing all the surrounding power.
In just a short while, a complete golden core floated within his Dantian.
A powerful aura spilled out, spreading throughout his body.
Only then did Jiang Hao slowly open his eyes.
He clenched his fists, and Golden Core power began to emerge.
Feeling how strong he had become, he could not help letting out a breath of relief.
"Golden Core. Hard to imagine."
He truly was surprised.
It used to take him a long time to accumulate a hundred points of cultivation. After Senior Sister Yun Ruo had set her sights on him, he had faced one danger after another, but his advancement had also kept accelerating.
Should I thank her?
But he soon shook his head and cut off that thought, because Senior Sister Yun Ruo was not the source of it all.
It was that woman.
Her appearance must have caused some upheaval in the Heavenly Sound Sect, prompting a large-scale search for infiltrators. Then Senior Sister Yun Ruo had set her sights on him.
Afterward, the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower had been placed in his hands, and the fishing had begun.
That was how things had reached their current state.
So if he thanked anyone, it should be that woman.
Except...
She was also the reason he lived in constant danger.
He ought to blame her instead.
A jumble of thoughts came crowding in, and he shook his head to cast them aside.
Then he went out into the courtyard and began nurturing his blade.
Whether anything would happen depended on tonight. He only needed to sit and wait.
He sat there all night.
Then the first ray of sunlight broke through at the edge of the sky.
Just as Jiang Hao thought nothing would happen, a figure approached the wooden house with the light at his back.
"He's here."
Surprised, Jiang Hao picked up the Half-Moon Blade and walked out of the courtyard. Step by step, he approached the creek, where the man stood on the opposite side.
They faced each other across the water.
In the early sunlight, Jiang Hao could clearly see the man's face and condition.
He was a somewhat burly man, but his aura was feeble, and his torn clothes left him looking utterly bedraggled.
Blood seeped from his arm and waist. He seemed to have been through a fierce battle.
Judging by his aura, managing to wield even Foundation Establishment Late Stage strength would be impressive.
They let him through on purpose, didn't they?
Jiang Hao immediately thought of the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower. Plenty of people probably wanted to see what would happen if someone touched it.
Liu Xingchen had always wanted to watch the show.
"You can't escape." Jin Zhouheng stared fixedly at Jiang Hao, his face somewhat ferocious.
"I'm not running," Jiang Hao replied.
"Are you waiting for someone to save you? Forget it. I've trapped the people hunting me with a divine ability. They won't make it here before full daylight." Jin Zhouheng's face was filled with resentment:
"Why did you kill Junior Sister Yun Ruo?"
"She was a traitor," Jiang Hao answered calmly.
He began gathering power.
"Do you know how much Junior Sister Yun Ruo meant to me? She was my hope for staying alive. When I was weak, she was the only one who stayed with me. When everyone else shunned me, she remained by my side.
"She was like a ray of light illuminating my dark world. She gave me a goal, gave me the drive to surpass everyone around me, step by step.
"But you killed her." Jin Zhouheng grew more agitated as he spoke, his eyes brimming with hatred.
Looking at the man's anguish, Jiang Hao merely shook his head gently and said:
"Now I know."
Seeing Jiang Hao act like this, Jin Zhouheng's face twisted:
"Then do you know I'm going to kill you?"
Without answering his question, Jiang Hao spoke expressionlessly:
"Do you still remember how kind Senior Sister Yun Ruo was to you?"
"How could I possibly forget? I'll never forget it as long as I live," Jin Zhouheng said furiously.
"Think back on it," Jiang Hao said kindly:
"Relive those beautiful memories, then come kill me."
By then, his blade had finished gathering power.
Before you continue