Blood Moon City, Free Heart Inn.
Liang Yifei watched the five figures disappear into the crowded streets beyond the window, and a faint laugh escaped his lips.
"Perhaps my plan is a little ruthless," he murmured to himself, his eyes calm and distant. "But compared to what the ten great sects have done over the ages, it is nothing."
After sitting quietly for a while, he rose and stepped out of the inn.
The streets of Blood Moon City were as chaotic as ever. Dark mist lingered in the air, mixed with the dense Yin Qi that permeated the entire city. Strange figures moved through the crowd — ghost cultivators, devil cultivators, wandering rogues — each carrying an aura that ordinary people would find suffocating.
Liang walked slowly through the streets, his hands clasped behind his back.
After a while, he sighed softly.
"The purity of the spiritual qi here is declining day by day."
As he wandered aimlessly, a nearby conversation caught his attention.
"Have you heard about the person the Heavenly Conqueror Sect is searching for?" a young cultivator asked excitedly.
Liang's expression shifted into a gentle smile as he stepped closer.
"And who might that be?" he asked casually.
The young man looked at him in stunned silence for a moment, clearly surprised that anyone could be unaware of such a widely discussed matter.
"His name is Ling Tian," he replied at last. "The Heavenly Conqueror Sect issued a warrant for him and spread it across all ten major cities."
Liang's eyes flickered slightly.
This piece of news stirred his curiosity far more than he expected.
He could not help wondering whether the Heavenly Conqueror Sect had a specific reason for hunting this person — or whether it was merely coincidence.
"Do you know why they are searching for him?" Liang asked calmly.
The young man shrugged.
"No one knows for certain. Some say he stole something extremely valuable from the sect. Others claim he offended their leader. There are even rumors that he possesses a unique cultivation technique that they want to seize."
Liang listened quietly as the young man continued.
According to the rumors, Ling Tian was a rising star in the cultivation world, renowned for his extraordinary swordsmanship and his mastery over thunder.
The more Liang heard, the more interested he became.
Since his own plan had already been set in motion and he currently had nothing urgent to do, he decided to investigate further.
Before long, he arrived at a peculiar building standing alone in a quiet corner of the city.
The structure exuded an eerie and unsettling aura that instinctively filled anyone who approached it with dread.
Liang pushed open the door and stepped inside.
The interior was dim and filled with an oppressive sense of secrecy. Shelves lined every wall, packed tightly with ancient books, scrolls, and parchment bound in worn leather and decorated with faded gold leaf.
Flickering candles cast unstable shadows across the rough stone floor, giving the impression that the entire building had stood there for centuries.
The air was thick with the smell of aged paper and dust.
The shadows themselves seemed almost alive, shifting and stretching as if they were silently watching him.
Liang glanced around impatiently.
"Come out, old woman," he said coldly. "I don't have time to play hide-and-seek with you."
Before his words had fully faded, a suffocating killing intent suddenly filled the entire building.
His body stiffened instantly.
The shadows around him grew denser and darker, as though they were preparing to swallow him whole.
A cold, emotionless voice echoed from the darkness.
"You dare to show such disrespect in my domain?" it said. "Who are you to demand my presence?"
Liang cleared his throat calmly.
"Old woman, it's me," he replied. "Liang Yifei."
Silence followed.
It stretched long enough to suggest genuine surprise.
Finally, the voice spoke again, this time with a hint of disbelief.
"Liang Yifei?"
The shadows slowly gathered together, and a woman's figure emerged from within them.
Her appearance was breathtaking.
Long jet-black hair flowed down her back in soft waves, and her almond-shaped eyes held a deep, captivating brown hue. Her skin was flawless, faintly flushed with natural color that enhanced her beauty rather than softening it.
She appeared no older than a woman in her twenties.
Liang stared at her in clear astonishment.
"Mi Ling?" he said uncertainly.
The woman laughed lightly.
"Old thing, why do you look so shocked?" she said teasingly. "Do you think you're the only one capable of preserving your youth?"
Liang frowned faintly but did not answer her question.
Instead, he asked calmly, "Have you heard about the commotion outside?"
Without waiting for her reply, he continued.
"The Heavenly Conqueror Sect has never acted so openly in the past twenty thousand years. They always handled their dirty affairs in secret."
Mi Ling looked at him with an odd expression.
"I know what you're thinking," she said quietly. "You're right. That boy discovered their secret."
Liang fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
"The purity of spiritual qi is declining everywhere. It was only a matter of time before someone uncovered the truth."
He shrugged lightly.
"In any case, it's already too late."
Mi Ling nodded slowly.
"Yes, it is too late. Once that secret is exposed, the ten great sects will become enemies of the entire world. I believe we are about to witness a war unlike anything before."
Liang chuckled softly.
"That will not happen."
He turned and began walking toward the door, but suddenly paused.
Without looking back, he spoke calmly.
"Congratulations on breaking through to the Spirit Severing Realm."
Mi Ling froze in surprise.
She had not expected her breakthrough to be seen through so easily — especially by someone who was still only at the Nascent Soul Realm.
Before she could speak again, Liang had already left.
Her figure gradually dissolved back into the shadows, leaving the building as empty and silent as before.
---
Free Heart Inn — Liang Yifei's favorite place.
Seated once more by the window, he rested his chin lightly on his hand, deep in thought.
After a while, he let out a quiet laugh.
"A war?" he murmured. "That will never happen. Their downfall is far closer than they realize."
Through the window, he could see the towering statue of the Heavenly Conqueror standing in the city square.
Anyone who approached it instinctively felt overwhelming reverence.
How could they not?
Statues of the Heavenly Conqueror stood in every city built upon the Dragon Earth Vein.
Liang looked at the statue with open mockery in his eyes, as though he were addressing the long-departed figure directly.
"You deceived the entire world, old man," he said softly. "The Dragon Earth Vein existed long before you were even born."
An earth vein of such magnitude could never have gone unnoticed.
In truth, the ancient powers of that era had known about it long ago. They had simply forbidden anyone from establishing cities there.
The reason was simple.
The Dragon Earth Vein was connected to every other earth vein in the world. Any disturbance to it would affect the flow of spiritual qi across the entire realm.
When the Heavenly Conqueror rose to absolute dominance, he set up a massive formation that covered the entire vein.
His purpose was clear.
He intended to use it as a gathering point, drawing spiritual qi from across the world to fuel his breakthrough into the Void Transformation Realm.
Many factions opposed him.
But his strength was terrifying.
Some believed his battle power was already comparable to a true Void Transformation cultivator.
He showed no mercy.
Every faction that resisted him was annihilated.
An ancient cultivator once estimated that after his ascension, nearly half of the world's spiritual qi had vanished, reducing the cultivation limit of that era to the Spirit Severing Realm.
But the story did not end there.
After the Heavenly Conqueror left, the surviving top factions moved their bases to the ten mountains above the Dragon Earth Vein.
And now, without most people realizing it, the cultivation limit had declined once more.
Liang could feel it clearly.
The Nascent Soul Realm had become the new ceiling.
As for Mi Ling's recent breakthrough, he was not surprised.
Though he did not know the exact nature of her special physique, her talent far surpassed anyone he had ever seen.
What truly surprised him was how long it had taken her.
After all, she had reached the Nascent Soul Realm at only fifty years old — an achievement that could be called monstrous.
Yet she had remained stuck there for six hundred years.
Just then, Liang felt a faint, mysterious pull.
Something was calling to him.
A cold, sinister smile slowly appeared at the corners of his lips.
Reaching into his spatial ring, he took out a small, strange mirror.