Beneath the dark, fathomless sky, the Ghost King Sect, a sect whose netherworld power held sway over a region of the Heavenly Star Dynasty, was once again shrouded in a heavy pall.
Crickets chirped outside the mountain, while the night sky was black as ink, every star hidden, and dark clouds lingered over the Ghost King Sect.
It was as though even heaven and earth mourned. The death of Grand Elder Gui Ming had undoubtedly triggered an unprecedented earthquake within the sect.
"Sect Master, terrible news! The Grand Elder's soul jade tablet... shattered! The soul jade tablets of the disciples who went with him all shattered too. They're all dead."
A deathly pale steward knelt in the Ghost King Sect's great hall, his voice trembling. The jade tablet fragments in his hands were like a cold verdict, announcing the end of a mighty cultivator.
Qi Tianlong, the sect master of the Ghost King Sect and an expert who had reached the mid tribulation crossing realm, abruptly changed expression at the news, an incredulous anger flashing through his eyes.
"How is that possible?" Qi Tianlong could not believe the reality before him.
"The Grand Elder was in the early tribulation transcendence realm. Within the Heavenly Star Dynasty, those capable of hurting him this badly could be counted on one hand!
"He must have been ambushed. Which faction dared do this?" Qi Tianlong's voice was low and forceful, reverberating through the great hall until its walls hummed.
He sprang to his feet, spiritual power surging around him as though it would tear apart the oppressive air. No, this would not do. "I'll go to the Gloomy Shadow Mountain Range myself and uncover the truth!"
The Grand Elder had been one of the Ghost King Sect's major fighting forces. His death was a tremendous loss to the sect! How could Qi Tianlong not be furious?
Before his words had faded, Qi Tianlong had already become a streak of light, striding through the air at a staggering speed.
His mid tribulation crossing realm cultivation gave him the power to tread the skies. He covered several li in an instant, crossing the Ghost King Sect's grounds, and arrived at the Gloomy Shadow Mountain Range, a place filled with unknowns and dangers, roughly several quarter-hours later.
Within the mountains, mist curled around towering ancient trees. Chilly currents swept in from every direction, making one shudder without feeling cold. There were only demonic beasts coming and going and the cries of birds!
Relying on his powerful perception, Qi Tianlong quickly locked onto the faint traces of the Grand Elder's presence and headed straight for the scene.
When Qi Tianlong stood amid that devastation, the sight before him made his heart sink.
Grand Elder Gui Ming lay there in deathly stillness, the bodies of Ghost King Sect disciples scattered around him. Blood and despair hung thick as ink in the air.
Gui Ming's body looked as though ten thousand swords had pierced it, wounds crisscrossing his flesh. Poisoned needles had sunk deep into his vital points like venomous snakes, and his head was already gone!
"He was surrounded and killed... Damn it, they even cut off the Grand Elder's head!" Qi Tianlong muttered, his voice seeming to come from the hells of the nine nether depths, icy and threaded with killing intent. A cold, blade-sharp light flashed in his eyes.
He knew full well that anyone capable of laying such an intricate killing trap, a net stretching across heaven and earth, had to be unfathomable.
But what shocked him even more was who had dared attack the Ghost King Sect's Grand Elder. Was it some hidden faction in the Heavenly Star Dynasty that concealed its head and tail, or some other, even more mysterious existence?
"Whoever you are, if you dare touch my Ghost King Sect's people, you will pay a terrible price!" Qi Tianlong's voice echoed through the valley like thunder.
He closed his eyes and drew a deep breath like a whale swallowing water, merging his spiritual power with the mountain range's Spiritual Qi as he began carefully sensing the lingering traces around him like a hunting hound.
As time passed, clues as subtle as spider silk began surfacing, flickering in and out of view.
To his surprise, Qi Tianlong discovered that this encirclement had been no coincidence, but a meticulously planned conspiracy. Every detail seemed part of a net painstakingly woven by his opponent, revealing unfathomable cunning and ruthless methods.
"They lured the snake out of its hole? What fine methods!" Qi Tianlong said through gritted teeth, his expression savage.
Luring them to the Gloomy Shadow Mountain Range before seizing the chance to strike? What profound scheming! This method of surrounding and killing someone does resemble an assassin's usual tricks.
Which faction struck? The Ghost King Sect has made enemies of many factions. Could it be the Shadow Pavilion?
Wait, aren't the poisoned needles in the Grand Elder's body exactly like those from when the Fifth Elder was killed at the Shadow Pavilion?
And the murderer who killed Sun Qi-could he also be a lackey of the Shadow Pavilion? Qi Tianlong knitted his brows, pondering silently as he tried to connect the two incidents.
Yet the more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed.
After all, two members of the sect had already met foul ends in this Gloomy Shadow Mountain Range, one after the other! The person who had killed Sun Qi previously had used the Falling Rosy Clouds Sword Art, while this time, the Shadow Pavilion had openly struck!
With that, even without employing that mysterious secret tracking art, Qi Tianlong could already guess the killer's identity!
But just what connection exists between this [Shadow Pavilion] and the Falling Rosy Clouds Sect?
Could the Shadow Pavilion be secretly colluding with the Falling Rosy Clouds Sect, wallowing in the same mire and plotting to join forces to wipe out the Ghost King Sect? At this thought, Qi Tianlong could not help drawing in a cold breath, his heart filled with shock.
As his thoughts delved deeper, a flash of inspiration seemed to streak through his mind, and Qi Tianlong seemed to grasp the reason behind it! Yet this discovery did not ease him in the slightest. Instead, it made the situation before him seem even thornier.
After all, if these two major factions truly were plotting something, there must be sinister, unknown aims hidden behind it!
Now that he knew who the mastermind was, Qi Tianlong was naturally beside himself with rage. "Well, well, [Shadow Pavilion]!
"I haven't even come knocking to demand an explanation, yet you've provoked me first. You've gone too far!" His furious roar pierced the clouds, and a terrifying mid tribulation crossing realm presence suddenly erupted around him.
That incomparably powerful pressure swept outward like a violent storm, instantly blasting the surrounding trees apart.
Even Luo Tian, several li away, clearly felt the astonishing presence coming from that direction, and his heart tightened.
After venting his fury, Qi Tianlong collected the Grand Elder's corpse and returned to the Ghost King Sect!
There must be a great conspiracy behind this. I have to return to the sect and convene an emergency meeting!
Far away on the other side of the Gloomy Shadow Mountain Range, Luo Tian thought, Hmm! That's the presence of a tribulation crossing realm expert. Why has he come here to throw a fit? Could the Ghost King Sect's sect master have come in person?
He's probably discovered that the Shadow Pavilion's people did it!
That old fox has clearly found something! What a pity I couldn't make those two factions bite each other like dogs! My scheme was still a little half-baked!
Luo Tian's plan had been to make the two sects go to war. He had never expected them to join forces to investigate the truth, so he could only resort to another method!
That was why he had Han Tang, Lü Baichuan, and the others strike first!
After all, they had accepted the mission to assassinate the Ghost King Sect's Grand Elder! They were merely completing it along the way!
If I can't be the oriole waiting behind, I'll strike first to gain the upper hand!
"Looks like I need to return to Fengluo City too! The Ghost King Sect will definitely make a major move this time!" With that, Luo Tian hurried toward the outskirts of the Gloomy Shadow Mountain Range!
Meanwhile, Qi Tianlong was silently making plans, deciding not only to avenge the Grand Elder, but also to seize this opportunity to eradicate the Shadow Pavilion!