Dozens of li away, deep in the forest, a blue figure darted past, his robes flapping loudly.
The blue-robed cultivator moved swiftly, his steps steady, but his expression carried a hint of ease.
"Senior Brother Wei came in person, along with two late Foundation Establishment senior brothers. How could that man possibly survive?"
The corners of his mouth lifted in a smug smile.
"If I hadn't expended my essence blood to perform the tracking technique, how could Senior Brother Wei and the others have found the clue so easily?"
"If this succeeds, when I return to the sect, I might even earn some recognition…"
His thoughts raced, as if he could already see the approving looks of the sect elders.
But then, thinking of the overwhelming aura and thunderous explosions ahead, he frowned slightly.
"Still… the sounds of that battle are truly astonishing. It may not be an ordinary Golden Core fight."
"I'm only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. If I rush in recklessly, I might be caught in the backlash."
He changed his mind and decided: "Better to slow down a bit, wait for the battle to end, and only approach after Senior Brother Wei has completely captured the man."
Having made up his mind, he eased his pace, reducing his speed by a fraction.
It was precisely this moment of hesitation that gave Mu Yun the chance to escape the killing field.
…
Meanwhile, in the valley of shattered stones, the scorched earth was still warm, the residual light not yet faded.
Mu Yun lay on his back, his body heavy as a mountain.
He was not mortally wounded—more than anything, he was utterly exhausted.
Ever since the Earth-origin Mu Yun's consciousness had awakened, it had remained dominant. Over the following days, although Mu Yun had reached the Qi Refining stage, the lack of sleep and rest, combined with this fierce battle, caused him to fall into a deep slumber the moment he hit the ground. It was four hours later before he opened his eyes again.
And now, the look in Mu Yun's eyes had changed.
"Little Mu Yun" had awakened.
He looked at the scene before him—shock, doubt, but mostly… bewilderment.
Scorched earth stretched everywhere, broken stones lay strewn about. The lingering spiritual fluctuations of a fallen Golden Core cultivator still hung in the air, like an ebbing tide.
He stared blankly at the charred marks, as if waking from a dream.
"I… killed a Golden Core?"
His voice trembled. Even though he had "known" beforehand, standing on this battlefield, feeling the residual spiritual pressure with his own body, the shock still flooded over him like a tide.
He was not unaware of what "Golden Core" meant.
That was a true powerhouse standing tall in the cultivation world—an unshakable mountain in the eyes of Foundation Establishment cultivators, let alone someone like himself who had not even reached Foundation Establishment.
And yet, such a being had died by his hand.
To be precise, he had been killed by the "other self," using strange "technology techniques."
He still felt exhausted, his mental power depleted. Without time to think, he quickly took out several pills, put them in his mouth, and swallowed them.
A faint medicinal fragrance dissolved into his dantian. His meridians trembled slightly as he forcibly activated his remaining mental power to guide the medicinal energy into his limbs, trying to muster enough strength to survive.
"I can't stay here."
Mu Yun murmured. He stamped his foot and leaped onto the left slope, standing on higher ground to survey the area.
The battle痕迹 were still clear, but as the mountain wind swirled, mist began to spread. Ahead, beneath a cracked rock, faint glimmers of gold could be seen—
These were the two ancient seal artifacts left behind by the black-robed Golden Core cultivator, one gold and one black, their auras not yet fully dissipated.
Not far away, beside the two corpses, lay three storage pouches—belonging to the Golden Core cultivator and his two Foundation Establishment companions!
"Take them."
Little Mu Yun's expression sharpened. He did not dare delay, quickly moving forward to collect them all.
"These are great treasures… can't let this fight go to waste."
After doing this, he looked around, then slid down, crouching low like a civet cat, hugging the rocks as he made his way out of the valley, racing along the slope.
"Retreat first. Staying alive is what matters. After all, I can't fight a Golden Core."
…
About a quarter of an hour later, in the forest west of the valley, a blue figure broke through the wind.
The blue-robed cultivator landed on the cliff edge and looked up. His expression had still held a trace of arrogance, but it immediately changed.
"This…"
His pupils contracted. He stood frozen, as if seeing something impossible.
The entire valley was covered in scorched earth, the ground collapsed, rocks shattered into pieces. The air was thick with a strange, burning scent, as if thunderbolts had pierced heaven and earth, splitting the valley with a single strike!
This seemed to be the result of some powerful technique.
Stranger still, he saw no sign of Senior Brother Wei on the battlefield—no body, not even a trace of blood.
"How can this be…"
He muttered, cold sweat already beading on his back.
Carefully, he jumped down into the valley and walked slowly toward the epicenter.
At the very center of the blackened ash, a twisted, melted fragment of metal gave off a faint, dark-gold luster.
The blue-robed cultivator crouched down and picked it up. The moment his fingers touched it, a familiar spiritual aura rose from the fragment.
It was Senior Brother Wei's gilded hairpin!
He shot to his feet, his breathing quickening.
"Senior Brother Wei… has fallen?!"
At that moment, he dared not stay any longer. He quickly took a transmission talisman from his storage pouch, bit his fingertip, used his blood as a guide, and activated it immediately.
The talisman glowed faintly, and a beam of light coalesced in his palm, forming the communication array of their sect's External Affairs Hall.
"Urgent report to the External Affairs Hall! At the shattered valley west of the Qingchuan Mountains, Senior Brothers Wei Wentao, Li Zheng, and Hong Wen are suspected to have fallen!!"
He spoke in a low, urgent voice, each word carrying a chill: "…They are suspected to have encountered a mysterious powerful enemy, not an ordinary Golden Core cultivator. It may be related to the death of Senior Brother Leng Zuofeng! Requesting the sect to send reinforcements immediately!"
With that, he dared not linger. He tossed the talisman, which turned into a beam of light and vanished.
Then the blue-robed cultivator moved his feet, not sparing another glance at the battlefield. His body transformed into a beam of escaping light and sped away into the distance.
"This is no longer something I can get involved in…"
"If even Senior Brother Wei is dead, if I delay any further… I might end up as a burial offering."
…
Ten thousand li away, at the Huayang Sect, Hall of Souls.
A hall built of black stone stood quietly deep within the mountain. Dim lights flickered within. There were no windows on the walls, only dozens of suspended soul lamps burning quietly in the blue flame.
This was the Hall of Soul Lamps for the Huayang Sect's Golden Core disciples.
Each lamp corresponded to a core member of the sect.
At that moment, an attendant disciple sat cross-legged beside the soul formation, meditating and refining qi, when he suddenly felt a slight fluctuation in spiritual pressure. He opened his eyes and looked up at the wall of lamps.
The next moment, his expression changed dramatically!
"Senior Brother Wei's… soul lamp!"
The lamp hanging in the center of the upper row, which had been burning as usual, had now gone out!
Not dimming, not flickering—but abruptly extinguished, as if snuffed out in a single blow!
Boom!!
The attendant disciple sprang to his feet, his fear not yet faded. He immediately used a jade slip to send an urgent report to the sect's Internal Affairs Peak.
Moments later, the tolling of bells resounded through the mountain gate, shaking the entire Huayang Sect!
…
Main Hall of the Internal Affairs Peak.
"What did you say?!"
An elder in a crimson robe shot to his feet, his spiritual energy shaking the stone table. His face was livid.
"Wei Wentao's soul lamp… has gone out?!"
The kneeling attendant disciple kowtowed repeatedly. "It is absolutely true! There was no fluctuation in the soul lamp formation, no abnormality in the defenses. According to the rules, this indicates instantaneous death, with the soul utterly destroyed!"
The elder's expression turned cold as ice. He crushed the jade slip in his hand to powder.
"That boy is one of our sect's core Golden Core disciples, mid-Golden Core cultivation, taught the sect's techniques from a young age. His soul foundation is solid—he could not have been easily destroyed!"
"Moreover… he trained in soul attack techniques. Unless it was the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator, who could extinguish his primordial spirit in one strike?"
Around the hall, several deputy peak masters and elders had arrived one after another. The place was buzzing with voices.
"The incident occurred in the Qingchuan Mountains. Could it be related to Leng Zuofeng's death half a month ago?"
"To instantly kill a Golden Core and annihilate the soul—that is at least the work of a Nascent Soul cultivator!"
"Who sent the message?"
"It was a disciple accompanying them… a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator named Li Ming. In his transmission talisman, he said: Wei Wentao engaged an enemy in a shattered valley in the Qingchuan Mountains and was allegedly blasted to death on the spot by some strange technique, leaving no remains."
"Did he describe the enemy's appearance?"
"Not yet. But he mentioned that Leng Zuofeng's body was also found in the Qingchuan Mountains."
"Elder Leng," someone turned his gaze, "what do you think?"
In the crowd, a gray-robed elder slowly rose, his gaze heavy as frost.
"My nephew Leng Zuofeng and Wei Wentao are both suspected to have died at this person's hands."
"I don't care if he is a demonic cultivator, a rogue, or a spy from another sect… I recognize only one truth—I want to see him alive, or his corpse dead."
He struck his green bamboo staff heavily against the ground, sending up a crackle of thunder.
"If the sect cannot get to the bottom of this within a month, I will personally travel to Qingchuan."
At these words, the hall fell silent, the air almost frozen.
After a moment, the crimson-robed elder spoke in a deep voice:
"Order—"
"The Mystic Fire Hall and the Soul Departure Division are to immediately dispatch cultivators, split into two teams to head to the shattered valley in Qingchuan—one overt, one covert—to find the true culprit!"
His voice was like thunder:
"This man dares to slay a Golden Core of our sect, then let him not blame the Huayang Sect for hunting him down… with blood for a soul!"
"Even if we have to crush three mountains and six rivers, we will drag him out!"