Lu Qingshan hurled into motion as the demonic cultivator appeared in the distance, tangled by the thickening underbrush. His speed carried him directly forwards. In shock, the man tried to cast a spell, but could not finish before Lu Qingshan’s fist erupted towards his head.

  The demonic cultivator received his first blow that moment. A horrible scream emerged from his throat as he backed away. Lu Qingshan’s second attack caught the man in his throat, severing an artery as the man disappeared.

  Blood showed him where to go in the underbrush. His target could not hide. Lu Qingshan felt a foreign blood energy wrap around his hands, flow into his inner force, and convert into his own healing. The Blood Seas Inner Force could refine other practitioner’s blood energy for his own use, tracking them as well in the process.

  Lu Qingshan quickly caught up to the fleeing cultivator and slammed a palm down. The man disappeared again, but Lu Qingshan was well versed in these tactics.

  Using his new sense for blood, he preemptively hurled himself forward. A palm struck the man’s back right as he appeared. Blood poured out of his mouth and his eyes were wide in terror.

  Lu Qingshan was about to attack again to finish his enemy off. Then his senses screamed at him. He tried to dodge.

  A bolt of energy punctured Lu Qingshan's side and sent him reeling. But he pushed past his pain. The demonic cultivator's head turned to pieces under the weight of his stomp.

  Lu Qingshan immediately threw himself back as far as possible as a writhing mass of vines far larger than the last soared into the sky. His true opponent was here. He caught a glimpse of an arrogant, cold face marred with deep scars. Something writhed beneath the man’s skin.

  Lu Qingshan turned to run, but energy crackled. At that speed, it was guaranteed to hit him. He ducked behind a tree to absorb the blow.

  His mind raced furiously, but there was no way to win. No way out. Even if his realm was at Viscera Tempering, it would still be impossible to fight back.

  But then, he saw something that shocked him. Yan Xi had appeared in the distance to stare in his direction. Lu Qingshan almost thought he was hallucinating when the Elder gave him a slow nod.

  The demonic cultivator didn’t seem to acknowledge Yan Xi. He continued attacking Lu Qingshan, bombarding the forest with a barrage of demonic spells. Black energy razed and corroded everything in sight.

  Lu Qingshan was still thinking about how to escape when Yan Xi ran out of hiding. He wanted to cry out for him to stop. There didn’t need to be a sacrifice. But it was too late. The demonic cultivator had already summoned a black lance of energy pointed towards the Elder.

  Suddenly, Yan Xi’s realm started to climb. It instantly shot through Viscera Tempering and continued up to the early stage of Aperture Tempering. Lu Qingshan’s eyes bulged when Yan Xi’s fist broke through the attack and slammed into the demonic cultivator.

  Lu Qingshan did not miss the opportunity. His speed was slightly too slow to catch up, but it appeared Yan Xi’s secret method was not for just a single attack.

  The Elder’s second fist crashed into the cultivator and sent him flying towards Lu Qingshan. They ganged up together to hold the demonic cultivator in place. Fists, palms, and claws carved up the man’s body.

  In panic, the cultivator fought back. His attacks blew apart Yan Xi’s sides as well. Another shattered an arm bone. But the Elder fought without retreat.

  Yan Xi only concentrated on bringing the demonic cultivator down no matter what price he had to pay. He succeeded. A gaping hole finally appeared on the enemy's chest. From that wound came rivers of blood, drenching the forest floor in red.

  Lu Qingshan and Yan Xi, knowing that these cultivators could still heal themselves, continued to fight with all their strength. They tore into the man's body and shoved it deep into the earth. They ripped open its torso and fractured its skull. They took the neck, wrung it, then wrenched it straight off from the body.

  Even that was not enough. The shoulders kept on twitching. Yan Xi had already begun to falter from exhaustion. Lu Qingshan took up his mantle. He continued to lay waste to the man's corpse, turning it into fragments of flesh. Limbs were cut into pieces, organs were trampled, and every single bone was pulverized when he finally came to a stop.

  With both demonic cultivators dead, Lu Qingshan wanted to feel happy. But his eyes turned to see Yan Xi coughing blood. The man was kneeling on the floor, refusing to fall, still ready to attack if needed.

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  "My martial arts...I left it in the place where we found the jade," Yan Xi said, eyes turned towards the distance. His face was peaceful. "Glory to the Seven Mysteries Gate."

  Lu Qingshan gave the man one last nod. "I will lead us to the apex," he said.

  Yan Xi's face bore a smile as he passed away.

  Lu Qingshan picked up Yan Xi’s body and carried it on his back. It was so very light, almost like a feather. He stooped down to pick through the demonic cultivator’s body.

  A piece of flesh writhed. Lu Qingshan dug his foot into the wriggling patch of skin and a soft squelching noise caused him to look closer. Underneath his feet was a black-red centipede corpse.

  Lu Qingshan furrowed his brow. Whatever insect this was, it seemed to have lived in the cultivator’s flesh. He scraped some of the chunks into a vial and packaged it into a leaf-covered box.

  The demonic cultivator surprisingly had a few shiny rocks with him. He recognized what they were: spirit stones. There were only five, but this was already quite rare for a mere Embryonic Breathing stage cultivator, even if they were at Jade Cleansing.

  He also found a stone used for sensing a cultivator’s innate spirit roots. Since Lu Qingshan was not a cultivator, he couldn’t activate it, but there were fortunately spirit stones he could use as a substitute. Now he and the Seven Mysteries Gate disciples had the chance to test their immortal cultivation potential.

  Other than that, there were no other spiritual objects he found in the area. Except for the corpse’s little flesh pieces, possibly. The last time he went to the lake clearing where Yuan Feng died, he didn’t manage to find the body. Perhaps the monster beasts found it too delicious to ignore.

  He started collecting the rest of the fleshy pieces into another two of his leaf-covered boxes. Then Lu Qingshan also searched the Heart Clarity stage demonic cultivator he killed. This man carried a few valuables along with silver, probably all stolen. He recognized none of them.

  Lu Qingshan also took this corpse with him to see what experiments he could do with it. He slowly made his way back to the Seven Mysteries Gate area.

  ———

  Lu Qingshan fended off another monster beast who thought him easy pickings and finally landed himself back at the camp. He had checked the lake clearing earlier, but nobody was there. And he was destined to be disappointed here as well. Though no buildings were destroyed, they were devoid of inhabitants.

  He stood there alone in the silence for a while. His first plan was to reunite with the others and give them some reassurance. But that didn't seem like it was going to happen. They couldn't have gone far though — he would find and bring them back.

  His next step was to bring Yan Xi’s body back to the old house they found the jade at. He was going to bury him there, and pick up the technique as well.

  What he was going to do next was still undecided. Lu Qingshan believed the demonic cultivators wouldn’t send another group so soon. They had to at least confirm why their men died, giving him time to develop.

  So scouting out the immortal world's situation had become a top priority. Without Yan Xi, the task would become much harder. The man had connections in the city that were now broken with his death. It would take time to pass down his written knowledge to another willing spy.

  He did at least have the spirit root sensing stone. Maybe he could use it to contact an immortal sect, deliver a batch of disciples, something like that. But first, the Seven Mysteries Gate disciples deserved their turn.

  Lu Qingshan quietly reached the back of the small hut where he was to bury Yan Xi. He dug a deep hole and gently laid the body inside. The man’s eyes were closed.

  A nearby rock was placed as the gravestone upon which Lu Qingshan carved the word, “hero,” onto it. He believed this was what Yan Xi wanted — to be buried near home. As Lu Qingshan stood back up, he sighed, taking one last look around.

  Then he saw Dong Qianyu step out of the forest with a smile. Following the man were the disciples that had stayed behind in the camp.

  “Sect Master!” He shouted, then bowed. The other disciples gave him a formal bow as well. “The other Elders are on patrol. They will return shortly.”

  Lu Qingshan gave them a bow back in return, acknowledging their respect. “The enemies are dead,” he said. “Yan Xi will live forever onwards as a hero in our hearts. He has given us all the time we need to recover.”

  The Seven Mysteries Gate held the funeral in enemy territory. They burned incense, spoke words of remembrance, and laid their dreams bare in front of their fellow disciples. Some wanted fame. Others, fortune. There were a few who wanted to travel the world and see how vast were its skies.

  Each of the Elders began returning one by one to join in the vigil. Meng Zhang spoke of revenge. Of never forgetting those who guided you in your youth. Li Fanghua wanted to usher in a lasting peace for those she loved.

  Liu Yingting wanted to achieve something great and bask in his family's adoration. Wu Ruoling desired power, and the chance to carve out a territory of her own.

  Dong Qianyu murmured that he only wanted the sect to thrive. Miao Mei agreed. The woman had lost her parents to thieving bandits a long time ago. The sect master had practically raised her — giving her a second chance of life sheltered from starvation and struggle in the city streets.

  Lu Qingshan carefully listened to what they had to say, nodding his approval and giving his own speeches as well. His goals were simple. Power, as much as possible, until not even the immortals could stand against them. He no longer thought of casting the sect away. Yan Xi's sacrifice, he could never forget.

  The funeral only ended once the sun began to set, and nobody had interrupted them. Afterwards, the disciples started to retreat back towards the mountain forest camp, only for him to stop them.

  "Not tonight," he said grimly. "Tonight, we take back what's ours."