Over an hour ago.

Some elders, unable to endure the fatigue of the journey, retired to their rooms to rest early. More chose to drink, make merry and brag. Chai Xin was skilled at stirring up emotions, but he himself never joined in such excitement. Yan Zheng, whom he had brought along, also did not indulge in wine and lust, and left the main hall before long.

The young Sect Leader ascended two floors and leaned against the railing, gazing down at Zongwu Mountain under the moonlight. He did not summon any servants, but brought a pot of wine from the main hall himself, silently pouring and drinking alone.

Two pairs of eyes were fixed on Yan Zheng from above.

After discussing important matters, Shi Jingzhi and Yin Ci immediately came out to tail the Sect Leader. There were many demons and monsters in the Ling Sect, dealing with them would be troublesome. As for the Fog-Avoiding Pill, it was best to steal it if possible - not to mention bestowing it to subordinates, the Sect Leader was bound to have a bottle on him just in case.

They only needed to choose a good opportunity to steal it, without even alerting the Ling Sect. Now was the perfect chance.

Shi Jingzhi rubbed his paws and mouthed: [Let's see who can steal it first?]

Yin Ci glanced at him, feeling that Sect Leader Shi had developed an inexplicable gambling addiction, even comparing such petty thievery, not knowing what he wanted to win: [Don't mess around, the sooner we get it the sooner we leave.]

Below, Yan Zheng was like a drinking puppet, taking a sip at regular intervals. Shi Jingzhi looked left and right, and was about to make a move when a figure flashed out from the building and walked towards Yan Zheng.

That person was also wearing the robes of as elder, with small eyes and nose, and features crammed uncomfortably on his face. His body was tall and sturdy, making his face look a bit strange. The elder stopped in front of Yan Zheng and bowed properly: "Sect Leader."

Yan Zheng stopped pouring the wine and rubbed his temples: "Elder Bao."

"It is indeed your subordinate, Sect Leader...?"

"You were about to take more than a dozen of your men out just now, let me think... You said you wanted to launch a night raid on the various sects and hang a string of heads on the mountain road?"

These words were said in a neutral tone, and Elder Bao didn't catch on. He said excitedly: "Zongwu Mountain is the territory of our Divine Sect to begin with. We should learn from the farmers and hang more corpses to suppress those thieving bird-men! Now that we have the upper hand, we must kill whoever comes."

"Hmm." Yan Zheng tapped his fingertips on the wine cup, "But in my opinion, the people sent by the outside sects are all useless, there's no need to waste energy on them. Elder Bao should rest first, and properly look for the Shi Rou tomorrow."

Elder Bao hit a soft nail and blinked his small eyes: "Sect Leader, my men are not like those sissies from Boshui, they are all good men who have eaten raw human flesh. We can finish the job in just half a night. For this trip into the mountains, I specially brought a hundred top-quality human skins. If we kill some fresh materials tonight, we can make a human skin carriage for the Sect Leader-"

Yan Zheng's eyes were half-closed, his expression dark and unclear: "A human skin carriage, I have some impression of it."

"Exactly! Your subordinate has made several before, and this time I will definitely make the best one for the Sect Leader. As for tonight's matter, please allow it, Sect Leader."

Elder Bao showed a hint of joy - the Sect Leader was such a revered figure, specially calling him over couldn't just be to exchange a few considerate words.

Shafu was the territory of the Red Hook Sect. Ever since Elder Bao became the Shafu elder, he had been holding a grudge and specifically robbed and killed the merchant caravans passing through Shafu. But Elder Bao was a real talent when it came to perpetrating evil deeds. The local authorities were pressured to the point of exhaustion, and many vicious bandits took the opportunity to join, greatly boosting the momentum of the Shafu branch.

With blood staining the yellow sands of the northwest and human skin flags rising everywhere, the Ling Sect's notoriety grew day by day. He had painstakingly built this up for a long time, and was more qualified than anyone for the position of elder in the main sect.

Now, with the low morale in the Sect, Elder Bao had even thought of many ways to revitalize it. As long as he had a chance, he could fully showcase his abilities, and might even become the young Sect Leader's right-hand man. In a few more years, when that old thing Chai Xin died...

Before Elder Bao could finish his beautiful dream, a sudden chill enveloped his neck.

Yan Zheng had made his move without anyone noticing. The Corpse Soul Whip wrapped around Elder Bao's throat, and the cursed fishy bitterness instantly spread through the air. Yan Zheng held the whip with one hand, his tone still as dead as stagnant water: "I told you to rest honestly, seems like you don't understand human words... Disobeying the Sect Leader's orders warrants death."

This move was clean, beautiful, and precise. Before Elder Bao hit the ground, he had already breathed his last. Yan Zheng put away the Corpse Soul Whip, not even sparing another glance at the corpse on the ground, and continued to admire the scenery and drink.

The ease on Shi Jingzhi's face faded a little, and Yin Ci also remained silent.

Something was strange.

The Shafu branch of the Ling Sect had a bit of a reputation and had developed rapidly recently. Elder Bao was exactly the kind of evil talent the Ling Sect needed, and should have been rewarded.

But in less than half a cup of tea's time, not only did Elder Bao not receive any rewards, his life ended just like that, completely unguarded. Even if the Ling Sect's demons liked to act willfully, this young Sect Leader was a bit too willful.

Finishing a cup of wine, Yan Zheng opened his ghost eyes: "Stop watching, come out."

Shi Jingzhi's breath fluctuated and he nearly exposed himself. Fortunately, Yin Ci covered his mouth and nose, and the two managed to hide their tracks.

The next moment, footsteps sounded. Chai Xin flashed out from the stairs, still dragging a half-dead servant. He shook his head and sighed: "This master is getting old, just bringing along a useless person, I can't even conceal my breath properly."

Chai Xin threw the servant into Elder Bao's pool of blood. The servant was sobbing uncontrollably, nearly wetting his pants. Seeing this, Yan Zheng did not speak, but his expression tightened slightly.

"Good disciple, why don't you explain to your master. Not only were you unwilling to let Elder Bao go out, why did you send someone to notify Huo Changying to go and wait outside?"

Shi Jingzhi's eyebrows jumped, and he exhaled into Yin Ci's palm.

Below, Yan Zheng remained unfazed: "It's all filthy business, speaking of it will dirty Master's ears... If Master wants to pity that Elder Bao, this disciple will apologize here. Who let the night be so beautiful, and that person kept adding to my annoyance, making one irritable."

Chai Xin was not diverted by his change of topic: "Tell me, your master loves filthy business the most."

"Fighting is not allowed in the Vermilion Tower, it's the rule of the Divine Sect Leader. Elder Kong took a liking to those two's appearances and told me to do him a favor. Master doesn't get along with Elder Kong, I was afraid that if I refused him, he would cause more trouble for Master... In any case, it's just a small matter, Huo Changying is not an important person anyway."

Chai Xin smiled ambiguously: "Oh, using Cutsleeve Kong as a front, not bad at all."

"What does Master mean by that?"

"Ah Zheng, before when you got the urge to kill people, your master thought you were just immature. This time you proposed summoning the elders from various places to help your master find the Shi Rou, and your master thought, my disciple has finally grown up... But why does it feel a bit off today? How about this, you said the night is beautiful, so why don't you accompany your master for a walk and have a heart-to-heart talk."

Yan Zheng's breathing finally became disordered for a moment, and he retreated half a step: "Disciple... then disciple will go prepare for a bit, master please wait here."

What a pity, Yin Ci sighed inwardly. Yan Zheng was still too young to outplay an old fox like Chai Xin. Looking at it now, not to mention Chai Xin, even they realized something was amiss here - no matter what Yan Zheng was after, something was bound to happen at Vermilion Tower tonight, and time was running out.

The Fog-Avoiding Pill was not urgently needed for now, so it was better to stay far away from this troubled place.

Yin Ci pinched Shi Jingzhi's wrist, hinting to withdraw. Shen Zhu was outside, while Su Si and Yan Qing had not returned yet. They just needed to leave this place and intercept the servants along the way.

However, Sect Leader Shi obviously had other clever ideas.

He looked at Yan Zheng deeply for a while, then at the aggressive Chai Xin, and looked back at Yan Zheng again, as if weighing two fat fish about to be grilled.

Finally, he turned to Yin Ci with anticipation: [Ah Ci, the situation with the Ling Sect is quite interesting, why don't we kidnap someone.]

Yin Ci: "..."

Just looking at Sect Leader Shi's shining eyes, it was as though he was not talking about kidnapping the Ling Sect leader, but rather "let's get some good stuff to eat".

...It was really hard to refuse.

Seeing that Yin Ci did not reject immediately, Shi Jingzhi made his move happily. He leaped down from the upper level, grabbing the frozen Yan Zheng by the railing along the way. As soon as the two landed, Shi Jingzhi released his aura without reservation, then ran away in a flash.

Chai Xin was stunned for a moment by that aura, then flew into a rage, intending to chase after them with his lightness skill. However, as soon as he moved, he was blocked in place by an extremely strange sword aura, unable to advance half a step.

The opponent's origin was unknown and their skill was extremely deep. Elder Chai stopped in his tracks, shocked and uncertain. In that brief moment, the group opposite disappeared into the night fog, quickly vanishing without a trace.

The opponent was not clearly seen and could not be pursued. Chai Xin could only curse a few times on the spot before hurriedly leaving Vermilion Tower.

Not long after, in Zongwu Mountain.

"You madman, do you want to kill half the people on Zongwu Mountain?!"

The masked man glanced at Shen Zhu indifferently: "Even Yueshui Bureau can be mistaken sometimes."

Yan Qing and Su Si did not dare to speak. Shen Zhu had not been traveling with the Ku Mountain Sect for long, so they did not know her well. They only knew she was an old acquaintance of Shi Jingzhi who came along the way to investigate some information - investigating, it sounded like there was not a hint of gunpowder.

Moreover, Shen Zhu was acting as a Yueshui Bureau disciple, just an outsider who would not be dragged down by the Ku Mountain Sect's notoriety. Along the way, Shen Zhu was indeed at ease, always putting on an air that everything was under control.

The more unperturbed a person usually was, the more shocking it was when they suddenly erupted.

Right now, Shen Zhu was breathing heavily, her eyes fixed on that person, cold sweat ruining her makeup: "You made the killing formation yourself, don't you know the effect?"

"I don't know what position you hold in Yueshui Bureau, but the art of techniques seems to be the forte of the Mi Mountain Sect. You don't specialize in the craft and only know some superficial knowledge, don't make a fuss and disturb people's ears. Or are you trying to use this clumsy excuse to stir up trouble?"

The masked man picked his ear with his little finger while continuing to complete the formation with his hands.

"This humble girl is untalented, belonging to the Heaven Department of Yueshui Bureau. Usually I'm just busy running around and indeed do not have deep research into techniques."

Shen Zhu said through gritted teeth, word by word.

"...But if your loved one was brutally killed before your eyes, would you mistake the technique that killed them?"

The masked man's movements paused for a moment, not answering, and his aura contained a hint of inexplicable anger.

Shen Zhu laughed coldly in extreme anger, and with this cold laugh, her usual nonchalant arrogance emerged again: "I don't know where you got this thing from, but once it's successfully activated, not to mention the Ling Sect... the nearby Taiheng and Red Hook people, even the few of us, will die under the formation. It's a waste that you're not young anymore, yet you ended up being sold out and even helped count the money, wasting a whole set of good martial arts."

As she spoke, her hand had unknowingly opened the acupoints and secretly untied the ropes on Su Si and Yan Qing. For a moment, even the two from the Ku Mountain Sect did not know if what Shen Zhu said was true or if she was just putting on an act with her superb acting skills.

After all, Shi Jingzhi and Yin Ci were still at the Ling Sect's Vermilion Tower.

However, Zongwu Mountain was a mix of people, and the movement techniques of Yueshui Bureau could also be faked, so that person would certainly not buy it immediately.

Sure enough, the masked man snorted coldly: "Evidence?"

"You must use blood to brew ink, add demon bone powder to draw the formation, with one or two parts blood to three parts bone. Before the formation is completed, you also need to sacrifice a hundred catties of fresh demon corpse, cut open the belly to stuff wooden talismans, then bury it under the eye of the formation - did I say anything wrong? If you let me go, I have a way to prove it."

The masked man pondered for a while: "This little girl has some guts. How about this, I'll give you the time it takes to burn one incense stick. If you can prove there's a problem with this formation, I'll stop. If you can't prove it, I'll break your legs and be the first to throw you off the mountain."

Yan Qing instantly broke out in a cold sweat. Shen Zhu's words were half true and half false, and she didn't seem like some master of techniques. How could the power of a large-scale battle formation be tested with bare hands? He was so anxious that he took a deep breath and used his internal energy to strike the acupoints, quietly struggling to break free.

A dozen steps away, the masked man casually picked up a pebble and broke the ropes on Shen Zhu's body. He cautiously dragged her to the edge of the formation before releasing her acupoints.

Who knew that the moment the acupoints were released, Shen Zhu immediately bit on a bird whistle and blew an extremely faint whistle.

The night was dark and the whistle was not sharp enough. However, this whistle was not blown for people - several sparrows broke through the air and used all their strength to hit the acupoints of Yan Qing and Su Si, then fell to the ground in a daze.

Yan Qing was already anxious, so his acupoints were released a bit faster than Su Si. He leaped out, grabbed Shen Zhu by the back of her collar, and pulled her away from the masked man. Meanwhile, Su Si kicked up a rock with the tip of his foot and threw it at the man's side wound.

Everything happened in an instant, and Yan Qing's mind was buzzing, almost going blank. He slung the injured Shen Zhu over his shoulder, determined to split up and escape with Su Si. It was just that this person was really powerful, and whether they could escape was still a question...

"Miss Shen?"

Shen Zhu didn't seem to have the intention of focusing on escaping. She almost immediately broke free from Yan Qing's arms and knelt on the ground. She swiftly pulled out the hairpin on her head and made a cut on her palm. Fresh blood immediately gushed out, dark as ink in the night.

Shen Zhu dipped her hairpin in blood and tossed it into the formation with a raised hand. As soon as the hairpin hit the ground, she went from half-kneeling to fully kneeling, and began chanting in a low voice. The chant had a rising and falling cadence, with fragmented and obscure content. At first listen, it sounded like the ravings of a madman, sending chills down one's spine.

The hairpin landed silently, and the chanting was not very loud either. The masked man simply thought Shen Zhu was exhausted and did not notice anything amiss. He easily dodged Su Si's stone and sighed to himself, "Haven't you learned your lesson? You can't escape... Huh?"

As Shen Zhu uttered the last syllable, the formation emitted an extremely cold aura. The runes within the formation glowed much brighter, flickering a bit unstably, not fully activated.

Even so, Su Si immediately jumped back several steps, his hair nearly standing on end.

A sense of bone-chilling emptiness surged up from his feet. Su Si was familiar with this feeling - during severe illness or excessive blood loss, he had experienced a similar cold, as if "life" itself was slipping away.

The surrounding air seemed soaked in corpse oil, becoming foul, sticky and suffocating, making one's chest ache. Although it was open all around, in a daze, Su Si felt like he was in a crowded pile of corpses, or an insect trapped in tree resin.

In that brief instant, the fear of death flooded his heart and lungs, and he couldn't muster the slightest will to resist.

The masked man was close to the center of the formation. Losing his footing, he dropped to one knee on the ground. Yan Qing and Su Si had escaped some distance away and merely swayed in place.

"Now's the chance, run!" Shen Zhu shouted.

But Su Si narrowed his eyes, gripping his flesh-cutting knife tightly, a ruthless glint in his gaze. "The night is long and dreams are many. The situation is in our favor. Why don't we capture this person-"

Crack! The sound of a whip.

Compared to ordinary people, Su Si was much more sensitive to killing intent. Almost instinctively, he dodged to the side, his willow-leaf eyes glancing toward the source of the attack. The whip tip had barbs, and failing to strike, left a charred pit on the ground.

A young man retracted his whip and landed at the edge of the formation, his blood-red eyes glinting in the night. With his back to the masked man, his gaze locked firmly on Su Si, clearly taking a protective stance.

Seeing the man's face, Su Si felt a chill down his scalp - it seemed he could not escape the grudge between the Ling Sect and Red Hook no matter where he went.

It was clearly Yan Zheng, the Ling Sect leader. Not long ago, they had met in the main hall. However, Yan Zheng's red sect leader robes were askew, his long hair a bit loose, looking like he had just been through a fierce battle.

Yan Zheng also frowned, "You're the one from the main hall earlier..."

"See, I wasn't wrong, was I?" A smiling voice interrupted the two. Two figures closely followed Yan Zheng. "My subordinates are all formidable. If the sect leader hadn't brought us along, your friend would surely have met a terrible end."

The Ku Mountain Sect members finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Their sect leader and "eldest senior brother" had arrived. Although Shi Jingzhi was a rather unorthodox sect leader, and Yin Ci a ruthless hands-off manager, the two still had real strength. Just by standing not far away, they were enough to put people at ease.

Demon Lord Yin couldn't be bothered to comfort his subordinates. He walked straight past Yan Zheng and stopped in front of the masked man. The sword energy from his Hanging Shadow Sword swept over, and with a "crack", the fragile mask shattered into several pieces, revealing the face hidden behind it.

To be fair, the masked man was quite good-looking.

Judging by his appearance, he was indeed under fifty years old. The man had a handsome face, slightly gaunt, with a hint of melancholy when not smiling. Unfortunately, he clearly did not take care of his appearance, with stubble standing in disarray on his chin, turning his heroic air into one of decadence.

Yin Ci let out an "oh". This man's cultivation was exceptionally profound, clearly not a nobody. Even Su Si, who disliked jianghu feuds the most, probably recognized him. However...

"No wonder he wore a mask." Shen Zhu licked the wound on her palm, eyebrows raised high. "Isn't this the great hero Yu Zikuan of Taiheng? They said you died five or six years ago. When did you come back from the dead?"