One matter resolved, two more emerged.
First, the matter of the tribute of young women involved forces far too great; Wang Yu decided not to delve deeper into it for now.
Second, he was part of the very first batch of 'goods' in Stone Lake City's spirit slave trade. This meant Old Man Ning had been the one who masterminded it from the start.
He deserved death! He deserved to be killed!
Right now, Old Man Ning was alone in the city. The men he brought were all hiding at the bottom of Stone Lake, waiting to rendezvous with him after the spirit root testing day. This period was the most suitable time for Wang Yu to take his revenge. There was no reason to hesitate. Filled with murderous intent, Wang Yu charged straight towards Old Man Ning's hideout within the city.
Decisive and swift—that described someone like him. If he had the ability, why wait for revenge overnight? He wished he could grind his enemy to dust the very next second.
Times were different now.
They were outside the sect. He had the capability to kill them all. Now that he knew the truth, and his enemy was right before his eyes, how could he possibly suffer this injustice?!
Kill! Kill! Kill!
Near the City Lord's residence in Stone Lake City, Old Man Ning, having just finalized this year's spirit slave deal, was staying in a secret safe house, contemplating Wang Yu. He was considering whether to make a move and ensure Wang Yu never returned. Many in the Demonic Path were narrow-minded and vindictive; he was one of them, just more patient and clever.
After pondering for a long time, he silently shook his head.
*'The risks in the Taihu Spiritual Domain are too high,'* he thought. *'If it draws attention to the other plan, even if I return successfully, I'll be executed. The risk is too great. Unnecessary.'*
*'The old City Lord failed his Foundation Establishment attempt. Fatty Duan failed too. I'm not young anymore either. As long as I complete this phase of the plan, that high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill will definitely help me break through this barrier.'*
*'I will definitely succeed...'*
Immersed in self-affirmation, Old Man Ning's eyes suddenly flew wide open. A figure shrouded in black smoke, clad in armor, smashed through the wall as if it were nothing. A large hand, like an iron clamp, reached for him.
"Where did this madman come from!"
Shocked and furious, Old Man Ning instinctively cursed, already flipping backward onto a roof beam. A saber artifact was in his hand. Focusing, he recognized the familiar aura and became even more astonished. "Wang Yu? Have you lost your mind? Attacking me here! Aren't you afraid of drawing righteous path experts?"
"I am not Wang Yu."
His voice, distorted by the Black Evil Armor, sounded muffled as Wang Yu offered a clumsy denial. His movements didn't stop; he summoned the top-grade bowl artifact for defense and continued his charge.
"You say you're not? This top-grade artifact—I saw you take it from Fatty Duan with my own eyes!"
"I am not."
*BOOM—*
Another wall was shattered. This one seemed to be a load-bearing wall, causing the entire brick building to collapse. Amidst the billowing dust, Wang Yu activated his Lunar Gaze, directly locking onto Old Man Ning's vibrant soul fire. He threw a punch with clear intent; the air seemed to explode, the terrifying force creating a visible shockwave ring.
Unable to dodge with movement techniques in time, Old Man Ning could only use his saber defensively, meeting attack with attack.
Upon impact, the surrounding houses collapsed on a large scale. Old Man Ning was sent flying, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and embedded into the stone paving bricks of the street.
"Wang Yu! You dare kill me? Aren't you afraid of the sect's punishment?"
"What does that have to do with me? I'm just here carrying out a mission in passing."
"You admitted it! You *are* Wang Yu!"
Old Man Ning felt a surge of triumph, but it vanished as he saw the tall, black-armored figure pouncing again, a wave of urgency washing over him.
Wang Yu couldn't help but laugh. "So I'm Wang Yu. So what? You sold me into slavery at the Reverse Spirit Blood Sect back then. What does it matter if I kill you now?"
One could say that every bit of suffering he endured during those one hundred and thirty-seven days as a spirit slave in the stone house district was thanks to this man. Not killing him would leave a permanent knot in his heart.
"But without me, you wouldn't have the opportunities you have today!"
"What a joke! Should I thank you for it? Die!"
High second-tier spell art: Profound Yin Hand! A狂暴 (savage) strike that consumed most of his spiritual power,叠加 (stacked) with the divine strength of the Corpse Arm, sent Old Man Ning into a panic.
A Qi Refining cultivator's spiritual sense could, at best, control one artifact at a time. At the critical moment, Old Man Ning abandoned his saber artifact, pulling out a high-grade shield artifact to defend with all his might.
Then he watched as the gray-black giant hand tore through the shield's spiritual barrier, denting the shield itself with a deep凹陷 (concavity). The real arm that followed completely pierced through the artifact, burrowing into his chest and abdomen, gripping his spine.
The next moment, immense force erupted.
A spine with the head still attached—a human "lamb rack"—was ripped out alive by Wang Yu. Fighting bare-handed was just this bloody and violent.
A respected veteran expert at the ninth level of Qi Refining, just one step from Great Perfection and attempting Foundation Establishment, was killed by Wang Yu in just a few moves.
Thinking about it, he had to thank the arm he lost back then. Otherwise, he might not have been so determined to cultivate the"Corpse Demon Secret Art", and wouldn't possess this overwhelming combat power. He would have been at least one tier weaker, unable to crush Old Man Ning so decisively.
Settling two long-standing grudges in a single day somewhat lifted the gloom that had settled over him after receiving the bad news from the Wang family.
This way, aside from needing to clean up the situation at Stone Lake, only Wang Wu remained to be dealt with.
Having been in Stone Lake City for less than a day, his efficiency was remarkably high. It felt satisfying.
Storing the corpse and storage pouches, he temporarily refrained from inventorying the spoils. Instead, he immediately activated the Night Concealment Charm and swiftly left the city to lie low.
The commotion he caused was too great. The surrounding residents were awakened, and the City Lord's residence had surely noticed. Wang Yu hadn't yet deeply investigated the situation there. To be safe, retreating was the best course of action.
Two hours later, near Stone Lake, Wang Yu finished checking Old Man Ning's storage pouches. A smile immediately appeared on his lips.
Rich. So rich!
Just lower-grade spirit stones alone totaled twenty-three thousand. Some were likely public funds given by Cold Blood Peak, but now they all belonged to him.
One set of high-grade artifacts. One set of high-grade formation flags.
Assorted pills, the most valuable being a life-preserving pill worth at least five hundred spirit stones. Miscellaneous items. One first-tier spirit beast pouch containing a Scale-Horned Flying Horse used for pulling carts, capable of flight.
Beyond these, the most valuable items were undoubtedly two tokens.
One was a pass for Black Mountain Pass, bearing the mark of the Green Cloud Sect.
The other was related to the secret behind him.
It was a token engraved with the character **[Desire]**. Wang Yu hadn't yet figured out how to use it. He certainly wouldn't risk investigating it personally. His greatest virtue was his willingness to heed advice. Since the old City Lord had taught him a lesson with his life, it was unnecessary to disregard his well-intentioned warning. It was time to withdraw.
Old Man Ning's assets satisfied even someone of Wang Yu's wealth, demonstrating how lucrative his position had been, placing him in the top tier among Qi Refining cultivators.
Swallowing a top-grade Spirit-Returning Pill, Wang Yu ran for a few more minutes. Stone Lake was ahead!
The slave-catching team had originally consisted of just over ten members.
**(End of Chapter)**