The flying shuttle was said to travel ten thousand li a day.
After flying for a day and a night, Ye Xuan finally reached his destination, Qingyu City.
He was still several hundred li from the mission site, but the flying shuttle only stopped at medium and large cities, so he had to make the rest of the journey himself.
After wandering around Qingyu City, Ye Xuan discovered that cultivators and mortals lived together here. Most cultivators in the city were in the Qi Refining Realm; he barely saw any Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators.
"The concentration of Spiritual Qi here is actually lower than at the chore disciples' quarters. No wonder the cultivators here have such low cultivation."
The lower the concentration of Spiritual Qi, the slower cultivators progressed. Those with poor talent naturally could not raise their cultivation.
Without lingering any longer, Ye Xuan left Qingyu City.
To complete the mission as quickly as possible, Ye Xuan found a deserted spot after leaving the city, changed his clothes, and put on a mask. After checking his bearings, he flew swiftly toward Mount Qi.
For this mission, Ye Xuan had no intention of visiting Yu City. He wanted to finish the task quickly so he could find somewhere to break through to the Golden Core realm.
The disciples in Yu City were in the Qi Refining Realm. If they could not discover anything strange about Mount Qi, that meant the ghost involved had powerful concealment abilities or had already advanced beyond Qi Refinement.
Thus, there was little point in Ye Xuan seeking out the Yu City disciples.
Flying at full speed, Ye Xuan finally reached Mount Qi as night fell.
After circling Mount Qi and Qi Village, Ye Xuan was surprised to discover an enormous formation here.
Although the formation was not particularly sophisticated, it could easily fool ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators unfamiliar with formations.
"No wonder the Yu City disciples found no trace of any ghosts. With a concealment formation like this, it would take a ghostly miracle for them to discover anything."
Concealing himself, Ye Xuan descended from the sky and circled Mount Qi on foot, step by step.
The level-one formation knowledge Ye Xuan had previously obtained from signing in proved useful, and he soon found a way to break the formation.
However, Ye Xuan did not break it immediately. Instead, he disguised himself as an ordinary person and entered Qi Village. He wanted to see just what demons and ghosts lurked inside.
As soon as he entered Qi Village, a foul, bloody stench hit him in the face, making him frown.
The entire village was deathly still, even somewhat sinister.
The sky had yet to go completely dark, but there was no sign of life anywhere in Qi Village. Cooking smoke, lamplight-there was none at all.
Something had happened!
Ye Xuan's heart sank. He spread his spiritual sense, yet found no living creatures anywhere in Qi Village.
Everyone in Qi Village was dead!
Ye Xuan pushed open the door of a house at random. Everyone in the family, young and old, had died in their sleep, their blood drained dry. By now, their corpses had begun to stink.
"They've been dead for over a month. It looks like the Yu City disciples were deceived when they came last time. This formation actually has illusory effects as well."
Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes. He realized this matter was not so simple. Perhaps Qi Village had encountered an evil cultivator, and the entire village had been slaughtered.
But why would an evil cultivator go to such painstaking lengths to set up so large a formation?
From what Ye Xuan knew, evil cultivators always struck once and moved elsewhere, never staying in one place for too long.
Moreover, the Azure Feather Dao Sect classified evil cultivators as devil cultivators whom anyone could put to death, yet evil cultivators would still remain within the Dao Sect's sphere of influence.
Leaving Qi Village, Ye Xuan looked toward Mount Qi behind it.
The formation enveloped all of Mount Qi. Whoever was behind it surely wanted more than just the villagers of Qi Village.
"Sigh, it looks like I've taken on a troublesome mission this time."
Concealing himself completely, Ye Xuan flew swiftly toward Mount Qi. Without knowing the enemy's exact cultivation, he could only keep a low profile for now.
If the enemy was too powerful, Ye Xuan could only break through to the Golden Core realm first, then return to make trouble for him.
Inside Mount Qi.
Beside an enormous pool of blood, a group of black-robed figures gathered, their eyes filled with fervor as they gazed at the jade pendant above the pool.
The jade pendant was snow-white throughout, connected to the blood pool below by strands of blood. In the pool's reflected light, it looked especially uncanny.
Inside the jade pendant, a gray figure sat cross-legged, feeding on the Blood Qi in the pool. With every measure of Blood Qi he absorbed, his strength grew by the same measure. He had now reached the Foundation Establishment peak stage, only a step away from breaking through to the Golden Core realm.
"Hahaha! Once I, the Blood Shadow Ancestor, recover my cultivation, you will all be rewarded for your service. Miraculous pills and elixirs, eternal life-all will be within easy reach!"
The Blood Shadow Ancestor absorbed another strand of Blood Qi and looked at the black-robed figures with a kindly expression.
"Thank you, Ancestor!"
With fervor on their faces, the black-robed figures all dropped to their knees.
Hehehe, to think the contingency I left back then actually worked. These fools really believed it. Every one of them is prime blood food.
The Blood Shadow Ancestor pursued his own schemes. A notorious evil cultivator a hundred years ago, he had accidentally entered the Azure Feather Dao Sect's sphere of influence and committed slaughter. Dao Sect disciples had pursued him for ten thousand li and struck him down here. Only through the great Blood Shadow Clone art had he clung to life. A hundred years later, someone had picked up the jade pendant housing his clone, allowing him to slowly begin recovering his strength.
Ye Xuan slowly approached the mountain's interior. Along the way, animal corpses lay everywhere, all drained of blood.
Slipping quietly inside the mountain, Ye Xuan immediately spotted the enormous blood pool within.
But the blood pool was now almost dry. All the essence of the blood had been absorbed by the jade pendant above it.
It really is an evil cultivator!
"Hahaha! This ancestor has finally recovered his cultivation!"
Amid wild laughter, the jade pendant shattered, and a gray figure appeared inside the mountain. He opened his mouth wide, and the bodies of the black-robed figures kneeling on the ground instantly burst apart, turning into blood mist that the Blood Shadow Ancestor sucked into his mouth.
"Sss, ah! Cultivators' blood really does taste the best!"
Golden Core early stage. I can fight him!
Sensing the Blood Shadow Ancestor's cultivation, Ye Xuan made up his mind. Gripping the Waning Moon Sword and using Wind Thunder Step, he approached the Blood Shadow Ancestor without a sound.
Azure Feather Swordsmanship!
Ye Xuan unleashed his full strength. The fourth level of Azure Feather Swordsmanship possessed astonishing power, and a hundred-zhang-long Sword-Ray crossed the intervening space, appearing right before the Blood Shadow Ancestor's face.
"Who?!"
The Blood Shadow Ancestor stared at the approaching Sword-Ray, utterly dumbfounded. Fortunately, he reacted swiftly, his body transforming into a towering cloud of blood mist, saving him from being killed on the spot.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
The Sword-Ray sliced through the blood mist, which let out a series of sizzling sounds along with the Blood Shadow Ancestor's screams.
The Blood Shadow Ancestor had never expected to encounter a powerful enemy just after recovering his cultivation. Already unwilling to keep fighting, he turned into a streak of red light and sped into the distance.
"Hmph, trying to leave?!"
Ye Xuan snorted coldly. With Wind Thunder Step, he caught up to the Blood Shadow Ancestor in an instant. The hundred-zhang Sword-Ray engulfed the Blood Shadow Ancestor once more, leaving him no room at all.
"Aaaargh! Brat, we've never had any grudges, past or present. Why do you keep targeting this old man?"
Left with no choice, the Blood Shadow Ancestor returned to human form. He was in a wretched state: his left arm was gone, and a gaping wound split his abdomen, leaving his internal organs clearly visible.
"I am justice!"