Red Leaf Ridge lay just east of Qingming Peak.
It was the season when the smoke trees bloomed, their red flowers and leaves dazzling and intense.
Under the bright autumn sunshine of the morning, the entire ridge looked as though it had been dyed with blood.
Deep within Red Leaf Ridge, Fang Jing could not see this magnificent autumn scenery.
He did not care, either. As long as he could successfully refine the Golden-Ringed Poison Bees and achieve an initial mastery of the Thousand Poisons and Ten Thousand Baleful Intents Arrow, that was enough.
Scenery or no scenery-it did not matter.
For this cultivation session, he had brought several dozen believers, along with a few attendants to serve as assistants.
Over the past dozen or so days, Fang Jing had used the Yin-Yang Banner to wipe out more than a hundred thousand Golden-Ringed Poison Bees.
Large as Red Leaf Ridge was, the Golden-Ringed Poison Bees had only seven or eight enormous hives.
By now, he had eliminated at least half of them.
Fang Jing was reasonably satisfied. The Yin-Yang Hundred Spirits Banner he had borrowed could release hundreds upon thousands of resentful spirits, precisely countering creatures with weak spirituality like the Golden-Ringed Poison Bees.
The only price was that each time, he had to expend one or two believers, sending them to destroy a hive at the cost of their lives and lure the poisonous bees over.
The Golden-Ringed Poison Bees' venom was ferocious, and the believers almost always died on the spot.
Fortunately, he had brought plenty of believers this time, enough to expend.
During the day, Yang Qi was too strong for him to use the Yin-Yang Hundred Spirits Banner,
so Fang Jing used a bronze cauldron to refine the Golden-Ringed Poison Bees' venom and cultivate the Thousand Poisons and Ten Thousand Baleful Intents Arrow.
Though this method bore the name of an arrow, it was actually a Law Artifact resembling a black ring. By forming a hand seal and activating his Law Power, he could condense a black arrow.
The black ring absorbed the refined bee venom, so the Law Power arrows it released naturally contained deadly poison.
This was merely the introductory method.
At a higher realm of mastery, he could also absorb various kinds of Sha Qi and fuse them with deadly poisons to form a true thousand poisons and ten thousand baleful intents. Humans, ghosts, gods, or devils-it could kill them all, making it exceptionally overbearing.
Fang Jing reckoned that once he achieved initial mastery of the Thousand Poisons and Ten Thousand Baleful Intents Arrow, killing even a seventh-rank martial artist would not be difficult with the Yin-Yang Hundred Spirits Banner as well.
How many seventh-rank martial artists did Siming County have, anyway? Once he dealt with Zhang Xinhu, Li Cheng'an, Wu Di, Old Yang, and those few others, would he not have free rein throughout Siming County?
He did not even need to kill them all. So long as he killed the strongest, Zhang Xinhu, and won Wu Di over, the others would naturally behave.
Then the Yin Yang Dao could spread its teachings everywhere, and within a few years, it would accomplish something.
While Fang Jing was pondering his grand plans, he saw his subordinate and mistress, Jiang Sangu, hurry over. She said quietly, "Jin Chuan from the Ironclad Guard is here."
After some consideration, Fang Jing had Jiang Sangu bring him over.
An eighth-rank martial artist would not understand anything even if he saw Fang Jing refining things in a bronze cauldron.
He had also notified Wu Di beforehand about capturing Golden-Ringed Poison Bees here, promising to give him some Red Flower Honey once the work was done.
The main reason was that he had summoned several dozen believers from nearby villages. With so many people disappearing, there would be some trouble if anyone reported it to the authorities.
Informing Wu Di in advance also served as a gesture of openness and trust.
Still, Wu Di had actually sent someone all this way to find him. It certainly could not be anything good!
Jiang Sangu soon brought Jin Chuan over. Wearing an ironclad robe and a large hat, Jin Chuan cupped his fists in greeting from a distance, looking very respectful.
Jin Chuan had actually met Fang Jing only once. This tall, powerfully built middle-aged man had a square head and face, yet his eyes were long and narrow, his pupils faintly green. When he looked at people, his expressionless gaze was like a venomous snake watching its prey-extremely frightening.
Seeing Fang Jing again, he found this incense master of the Yin Yang Dao dressed in a loose black-and-white Dharma robe, with a mask of interwoven black and white covering his face. A closer look revealed that its pattern was a blooming black-and-white lotus.
The mask looked very eerie, and the pair of narrow eyes behind it glowed green, inspiring dread at a glance.
Jin Chuan had heard his company commander say that the black-and-white lotus mask and Yin-Yang Dharma Robe were Law Artifacts unique to cultivators of the Yin Yang Dao, with quite a history behind them.
He stepped forward and bowed slightly. "Great Dharma Master Fang, my company commander would like to ask you a favor."
Fang Jing said nothing, merely looking at Jin Chuan to signal him to continue.
"A young Daoist named Zhou Wuji is coming to Red Leaf Ridge. Please take his head, Great Dharma Master. If the company commander receives his head, he will certainly remember this favor."
Hearing Jin Chuan's words, Fang Jing inwardly cursed Wu Di for his shamelessness. He wanted Fang Jing to kill someone for him without offering any reward, just an empty promise of a favor!
But to spread his teachings, he needed Wu Di's support in many matters.
He could not refuse this request.
Fang Jing asked, "What rank is Zhou Wuji?"
"He only reached eighth-rank Qi Ingestion a few days ago and went to the lower monastery to receive ordination."
Jin Chuan answered respectfully, "Zhou Wuji is Yiyuan's disciple. They say his swordsmanship is good."
"How do you know he's coming to Red Leaf Ridge?" Fang Jing asked.
"The company commander used a scheme to lure Zhou Wuji here. On horseback, I should be a day's journey ahead of him."
Jin Chuan had also taken a shortcut this time. By his calculations, Zhou Wuji should arrive within the next two days.
There was a seven-day agreement. If Zhou Wuji came too late, he would not have time to fulfill it.
"I understand."
Fang Jing waved Jin Chuan away without giving him a definite answer.
He was a dignified incense master of the Yin Yang Dao, not Wu Di's subordinate. There was no need to promise anything.
If that fellow named Zhou Wuji really did come to Red Leaf Ridge, he would do Wu Di a favor in passing.
If he did not come, or they did not encounter him, there would be nothing to say about it.
When Jiang Sangu returned from outside, she asked quietly, "Should we send someone to watch the southern entrance?"
Coming from Siming County, the man had two routes to choose from: one led here, while the other led toward the southern entrance, only a mile or so away.
With the high hills and dense trees, someone would disappear from sight after just a few dozen paces. At such a distance, they would have no idea if someone entered.
Fang Jing said casually, "There's no need. Tonight, I'll release the hundred spirits to patrol. As long as he's in Red Leaf Ridge, he won't escape."
During this time, the hundred spirits of the Yin-Yang Banner had devoured numerous Golden-Ringed Poison Bees, gaining some spiritual nourishment from these tiny demonic creatures.
Though they could not injure an enemy from far away, they could easily distinguish the presence of living beings.
If someone really was in Red Leaf Ridge, they would be like a torch in the dark, easily detected.
Fang Jing did not pay much attention to this matter. The key now was refining the Thousand Poisons and Ten Thousand Baleful Intents Arrow. Everything else was trivial...
By the time Zhou Wuji reached Qingming Peak, it was dusk. Autumn's last lingering sunset glow spilled across the mountain woods. Every other color had dimmed, leaving only Red Leaf Ridge so intense that it seemed to be burning.
He had visited Red Leaf Ridge once with his master, but not in this season or at this hour.
Faced with scenery so dazzling it blazed, Zhou Wuji stared in a daze for a long time.
Only when the sun set and the sky, mountains, and woods had all lost their light did he let out a sigh of admiration.
Such beauty truly brought autumn's colors to their utmost. What a pity there was no camera to take a picture, and no one to share the view with...
If Wuming were here, holding her little hand and admiring the scenery would probably be wonderful too...
Zhou Wuji felt he had suddenly become a little literary. No, lonely. That would not do. Indulging in literary sensibilities here would certainly get him killed especially quickly!
He took a Grain Avoidance Pill, then sat quietly to regulate his breathing and circulate his Qi.
After a hundred and eight circuits, he opened his eyes, refreshed in spirit and brimming with Qi, no longer thinking about useless things like beautiful scenery or beautiful women.
It was completely dark. Even with Zhou Wuji's eyesight, Red Leaf Ridge below was only a black expanse, with the rolling contours of the ridge faintly discernible.
Rather than hurry into Red Leaf Ridge, he first opened the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment.
There were still four demonic creatures listed in it, two seventh-rank and two eighth-rank. Simply leaving them there for emergencies was far too wasteful.
Zhou Wuji's gaze fell on the seventh-rank tiger demon. At three taels and eight mace, it was the strongest demonic creature.
Judging by his experience using the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment, he had to proceed step by step.
If he used strong medicine right at the start, the effects would only grow worse afterward.
The black panther, at two taels and three mace, was the weakest, followed by the giant python at two taels and five mace.
Zhou Wuji selected the black panther and converted it into Origin Mystic Essence. A mass of azure light poured through his entire body from above, filling him with an indescribably comfortable warmth.
Once the azure light vanished completely, Zhou Wuji checked the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment again. His body stat had risen by twenty points, reaching one hundred and seventy-five.
That was an increase of roughly one-seventh, far less effective than the pig demon last time.
The black panther was not much weaker than the pig demon.
Zhou Wuji was somewhat disappointed. At this rate, getting his body stat to five hundred would be very, very difficult...
Fortunately, his lifespan had increased by two years, and the improvement in his physical condition was also very noticeable.
Even the pitch-black Red Leaf Ridge looked a little clearer...
Zhou Wuji seemed to see a speck of green light flash past. Unsure whether his eyes were playing tricks on him, he immediately activated the Six Yang Dharma Eye.
The Six Yang Dharma Eye not only let him see through darkness, but also see the traces of various spirits.
After blessing himself with the Six Yang Dharma Eye, Zhou Wuji looked at Red Leaf Ridge again and could see wisps of Sha Qi and resentment Qi. Most conspicuous among them was a place with a deep, eerie presence, like a mass of barely perceptible black smoke...