The crimson fire blazed fiercely in the fields, the piled-up straw crackling in the flames. Under the pitch-black night, the burning blood-red flames illuminated the eerily silent, deserted village. Dark blood flowed quietly on the ground.
In the center stood a dark stone platform covered in dark red runes. Many men and women, dressed in Daoist robes, kneeled upon it. Sharp dharma weapons had pierced through their throats, and they lay collapsed on the sacrificial altar.
A chilling wind blew, creating a mournful wail. Nine piles of bones, varying in size, were neatly arranged around the area, most of them fragmented. In the middle, a cultivator clad in black sat cross-legged, his eyes closed in deep concentration.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, mana light flickering within its depths. His skin was slightly tanned, his hair disheveled, revealing him to be a man of Mount Yue. He stood up, humming a song, and picked up a black gourd, glancing at the moon. He murmured softly, "The moon is at its zenith, the yin energy is at its peak... Perfect!"
He then gently lifted the black gourd, which was covered in numerous runes that began to glow with a blood-red light. He shook it lightly as his mana flowed freely, and shouted, "Collect!"
Immediately, black and blood-red qi rose from the piles of bones, emitting a cacophony of sharp, mournful screams. The qi interwove in the air like threads, like homing swallows, all of it wafting toward the sacrificial altar and into the small opening of the gourd.
"Good... good!"
The black-robed cultivator waited for an hour until the resentment qi and blood qi were fully collected into his gourd. The piles of bones had now withered, crackling as they disintegrated. The blood-red light on the gourd grew increasingly intense.
He finally stopped in satisfaction and said, "Over three thousand people, six Embryonic Breathing Realm cultivators. This batch should please the sect master!"
Smiling contentedly, he looked at the ground and, after some thought, cast a spell. The blood on the ground began to move as it seemed to come to life, quickly forming large characters on the ground— The killer is Jiang Yan.
He examined his work closely, squeezing out a laugh from his throat. His black robe fluttered though there was no wind, and he cackled, "The sect master's method is indeed flawless!"
As he marveled, an indistinct voice emerged from beside him.
"It truly is a good method!"
"Who's there?" he asked as he looked up abruptly and in shock, seeing a young face appear beside him, smirking and staring intently right at him with vermillion lips.
The youth sneered, "Chi Zhiyun has indeed made a good plan... The Azure Pond Sect collects the resentment qi and blood qi while I, Jiang Yan, take the blame..?"
"Jiang Yan?!"
The man was terrified, exclaiming, "You... Are you not in Linghai Prefecture?!"
Realizing the situation, his eyes filled with mana light, blood qi rising from his body. He tried to fly away, turning to escape.
"And here I am, wondering why there are so many devil cultivators around... It seems that it is your Azure Chi Devil Gate stealing from itself!" Jiang Yan sneered, reaching out.
The man had just taken to the air but fell heavily to the ground with a loud thud. As a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, this barely fazed him. He stomped his foot on the ground and reached for the whip at his waist.
Jiang Yan performed a hand seal with his left hand and pointed at the man with his right. The man's robes twisted together and deformed, the runes on the whip transforming into scales that stood up menacingly. The whip came alive, turning into a black, ugly serpent, hissing and lunging at the man's hand.
"What kind of spell is this?!"
The man was horrified as he screamed, quickly casting a spell and striking the serpent away. But before he could react, the nine piles of bones around him stirred, each connecting and forming a massive skeletal hand that reached for him, covering the sky.
"How could a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator still use a Qi Cultivation Realm dharma artifact?" Jiang Yan mocked coldly, a smirk appearing on his face.
The cultivator dressed in black conjured a blood-red spell and punched a large hole through the massive skeletal hand, leaping out amidst the raining bones to strike Jiang Yan on the head.
The young man looked up, exhaled a deep black mist, and caught the cultivator's spell. He even had the time to smile as he asked, "Master, what kind of immortal foundation does this person have?"
From within the black mist emerged the sinister black serpent, flicking its tongue and speaking in a gravelly voice, "He drinks the blood of the people... He must be originally from Mount Wu under Duanmu Kui and later joined the Azure Pond Sect..."
When the black-robed cultivator saw Jiang Yan refer to the transformed black serpent as his master, his heart went cold, and he mumbled, "J-Jiang Boqing... How is this possible?! You did not get captured by the Emissaries of Death?! How is this possible..."
The black serpent chuckled, and the blood and bones around them swirled like a whirlwind, violently splitting into numerous small hands that reached for the cultivator. The serpent hissed and cackled, "I do not cultivate the Purple Mansion Golden Core Dao... my name is not on their lists! How could they possibly catch me?"
The cultivator who was dressed in black was rendered speechless. As Jiang Yan chanted spells, the attacks from the blood and bones grew more intense. Forced into a corner, he thought to himself with relief, Fortunately, I collected the blood qi and resentment qi first, otherwise, this spell would have been much stronger!
Looking up again, the black serpent had vanished. The black-robed cultivator's heart skipped a beat, his spiritual sense searching all around him as he said respectfully, "Master Jiang, our Dao lineage are similar, both derived from the immortal talisman and curse... I have long admired you..."
But before he could finish begging for mercy, a sinister voice hissed in his ear, "Where is the Answers to a Beggar’s Questions Under the Mulberry Tree ?"
"I... I do not know!"
Hearing the name of the secret technique, Answers to a Beggar’s Questions Under the Mulberry Tree , terror almost overflowed from the cultivator's face. He stammered, "N-Not only the Purple Mansion Realms of the three sects and seven gates... but even the Pristine Water is..."
"Silence!"
The black serpent's scales bristled, its eyes bulging as it scolded, "How dare you speak that name out loud? Are you mad? This is not Duanmu Kui's territory... You dare utter that name in Azure Chi Devil Gate's territory?"
"Y-Y-Yes!" the black-robed cultivator stammered, continuing, "E-Even... the True Monarch personally went to Mount Wu. There truly is nothing there! If I'm lying I'll be struck by five thunders and never reincarnate!"
"Hahahahaha... you are quite clever."
The black serpent's voice carried a snake-like hiss, sinister and eerie. "In this day and age, what good are oaths? Since the True Monarch himself came, could he not have divined the truth, or perhaps searched souls and seized spirits?" the snake hissed.
The black-robed cultivator's immortal foundation was operating at full capacity, barely holding off the skeletal attacks. His eyes were bloodshot, blood vessels clearly visible as he stammered, "S-Senior, do not deceive me... Duanmu Kui met the immortals. His fate is so chaotic that even if there were an opportunity, who would dare to calculate it?! The grace of immortals is vast, and their might is like a prison. Even the True Monarch would not dare to probe! As for searching souls and seizing spirits... Duanmu Kui failed his breakthrough and has become a Locust Shade Ghost. Where could you search for his soul!"
The black serpent fell silent, its voice full of resentment as it hissed, "You have cultivated on Mount Wu for many years. Have you ever seen this secret technique?"
"Never..."
The black serpent said nothing more. The cultivator knew this meant trouble, sensing Jiang Boqing's murderous intent. Trapped by Jiang Yan's skeletal spell, he knew he could not escape. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, "I beseech the profound light true talisman, this wicked ghost and demon, disrupting my path... I humbly request the profound light to..."
Before he could finish reciting the shamanic incantation, the black serpent laughed wildly and darted like lightning toward his neck. Its voice hissed and echoed in their surroundings.
"What do you think you are doing?!"