"Senior Brother Lu, is it true there's demonic sect activity in Wanqing Mountain?"
"I heard those demonic cultivators refine pills using other cultivators, skin people alive to craft magical artifacts, totally wicked and cruel. But is it really that exaggerated?"
A group of disciples from the Qingyun Sect descended from their mountain. Ever since they'd reached the Foundation Establishment stage, they'd been traveling via flying swords without time for idle chatter.
Today was a rare opportunity to slow down and chat as they walked, so naturally, they started a fitting conversation.
"Silence!" Lu Changtian coldly snorted. His indifferent gaze swept over the group and he said flatly:
"So what if there are demonic cultivators? This Wanqing Mountain is our Qingyun Sect's territory. Even if a demonic grandmaster came, they'd still have to kneel!"
The disciples all looked awestruck and began flattering him one after another.
"Senior Brother Lu is right!"
"Exactly! Senior Brother Lu is the strongest of our generation of personal disciples. His talent far surpasses any demonic cultivator!"
"If we run into any, we'll just kill them all!"
Lu Changtian maintained a stoic expression, but inwardly, he was quite pleased.
That's right. He used to be overshadowed by the Sect Master's disciple, Zhao Lingtian. But now Zhao's dantian was ruined—he, Lu Changtian, stood unchallenged as the top Foundation Establishment disciple in Qingyun Sect. Mere demonic cultivators…
Whoooosh—!
The clear night sky suddenly darkened.
Lu Changtian looked up to see a massive dark cloud rising from the mountain, blotting out the moonlight, speeding westward at an alarming pace.
From within the cloud surged crimson demonic energy, and even from this distance, the oppressive aura made everyone's back go cold.
"It's a demon cultivator!"
"That demonic aura is terrifying!"
"Notify the sect—quick!" Lu Changtian's face went pale, the earlier confidence gone.
If the demonic aura had condensed into a cloud, the enemy was at least an old monster—far beyond their current cultivation.
A law enforcement disciple beside him scrambled to retrieve a messaging jade slip, but just as he activated it—
He froze.
"Hehehe… Little brats, I can't let you send out a message so easily."
A chilling voice sounded behind them.
Lu Changtian turned in horror—the black cloud in the sky was gone.
The demonic cultivator had somehow appeared behind them without a sound.
Black mist engulfed the law enforcement disciple.
He didn't even have time to scream before being devoured.
The jade slip shattered like glass.
"I'm in a bit of a rush today, so I won't waste time killing you all. Here, I'll leave a little toy to play with. Hehehe~"
The demonic mist dispersed, and the cultivator didn't even show his full form before killing a Qingyun Sect disciple.
All that remained was a twisted, shriveled corpse.
"He… he's gone?"
"Junior Brother Zhang? Zhang?!"
"Forget it—he's gone. We need to report this now!"
They only had one messaging jade slip. With a demonic grandmaster roaming Wanqing Mountain, this mission was far beyond their level. It was time for the sect to send elites or elders to deal with it.
One disciple stepped forward, intending to collect the remains of Zhang—
"Don't go near! Get back!"
Lu Changtian's eyes locked onto the corpse, sensing something was wrong.
But he was too late.
The supposedly dead body sprouted red fur—
Then, like a pouncing leopard, it sprang up and lunged at the approaching disciple.
Its jaws opened wide, revealing double rows of fangs, and it bit down on the man's neck.
Crunch—!
The Foundation Establishment disciple's neck was torn clean off,
Half the flesh still dangling, blood gushing like a fountain.
The sudden horror left the nearby disciples frozen in fear, too stunned to react.
Meanwhile, the blood-soaked monster only grew more frenzied.
"That's a Furred Corpse!"
Lu Changtian unsheathed his flying sword, face grim.
"Form up, now! If we don't kill it, none of us will leave alive!"
He stared at the hideous creature, a chill crawling up his spine.
To casually create a furred corpse on par with a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator…
Just who was this demonic master?
---
Meanwhile, in the small house at the foot of the mountain—
"The pill senior gave me… it's far more than just precious…"
Li Qingran was shaken as she looked inward to examine her dantian.
What she saw left her speechless.
The forming new dantian shimmered in golden light. It looked nothing like the ordinary dantians described in texts.
As it neared completion, a spinning golden lotus platform manifested.
"T-this is my new dantian?!"
The lotus-like dantian emitted a faint green glow.
Each petal was vivid, and on each, she could vaguely see profound Daoist scripture.
Unheard of. Unimaginable.
But she knew this was no ordinary dantian.
She had often browsed the Scripture Pavilion.
Though the first floor had no powerful techniques, it did contain historical records—anecdotes and lore that broadened perspective even if they didn't strengthen cultivation.
In ancient times, sects valued dantian quality even more than spiritual roots.
Back then, dantians were graded.
A first-grade dantian was the best among innate types.
But even above that… was the legendary supreme-grade.
No one was ever born with it.
It only appeared when heaven-defying geniuses with first-grade dantians used the rarest treasures to enhance themselves—only then was there a tiny chance.
Li Qingran had never seen a supreme-grade dantian.
But her instincts screamed:
This… was one.
"Just what kind of incredible pill did senior give me…"
She opened her eyes, gazing in a daze at the room blooming with golden lotuses.
Tears welled in her eyes.
Restoring her dantian alone was already a favor she could never repay.
Now he'd even gifted her a once-in-ten-thousand-lifetimes opportunity?
"KeKeKe… So it is a supreme-grade dantian! Fate smiles upon me!"
A mad, ancient voice echoed from outside.
Li Qingran looked toward the window.
Suspended in the sky was a black cloud, churning with demonic energy.
A faint silhouette stood within.
"Demonic cultivator!"
The visitor reeked of ill intent—and immense power.
"Senior! A demonic cultivator is here!"
In her panic, she didn't care whether the "senior" in her heart was stronger than this foe—
She just grabbed a broken sword, eyes locked on the window.
"KeKeKe!"
The voice from the black cloud laughed madly.
"I am Ye Futian, Grand Patriarch of the Heaven-Demon Sect!
Today, none of you will escape.
You shall become the stepping stones of my ascension!"
"Don't be arrogant!"
Li Qingran's eyes sharpened.
She gripped her sword, ready to rise—
But a gentle force pushed her back down.
—
Back in the hotel room—
Chen Huaian stared at the red dot on the game map and the swirling black cloud, a wicked smile curling his lips.
He picked up a voice talisman and pressed down.
"Little girl, step back. Get back in bed and pull up the covers. It's time for your lord and master to show off!"
What Li Qingran heard instead was—
"No need to worry. A mere insect…
I…
Shall crush it with a flick of my finger."