The Night Patrol Division Dungeon.
Gong Chi listened to the commotion outside, sitting quietly with a faint smile on his lips while flipping through a copy of The Carefree Chronicles.
He had heard the activation of the killing array. Once it was triggered, the defensive formation protecting Fei Xian Peak would weaken significantly, creating an opening for others to exploit. Feng Xuan, oh Feng Xuan, you're still too inexperienced.
Do you know that the Tianzuo Alliance possesses a technique called the Yin Five Elements Ghost Art? Though not as complete as the foundational techniques of your main peak, it is still a top-tier ghost cultivation method acquired from ancient ruins. Practitioners of this art can enter Fei Xian Peak silently and undetected.
Formation.
Divine Sense.
None of them can detect it.
"This short essay is well-written. The author vividly portrays a family that dominated their region for thirty years, only to realize, upon stepping beyond their city, that they were nothing more than frogs at the bottom of a well." Gong Chi praised the writer of The Carefree Chronicles with satisfaction.
But wasn't this passage also a veiled insult?
Unfortunately, in order to maintain his deception, he had been forced to injure himself, rendering the elixirs Bai Changxin had given him useless in breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Refinement. Otherwise, once this battle concluded, the position of Fei Xian Peak's master would have been his for the taking.
No matter—once he presented Wen Jiu to the Alliance Leader and received his rewards, achieving the sixth level of Qi Refinement would be inevitable.
After reaching that stage, coupled with the resources of a peak, all he would need was ten more years.
The late stage of Qi Refinement would be within his grasp.
By then, he would be only eighty years old. Upon stepping into the late stage of Qi Refinement, his lifespan would extend to 150 years, leaving him with nearly sixty years—enough time to pursue the pinnacle of Qi Refinement.
Perhaps even Foundation Establishment.
Steady progress.
A slow and methodical approach.
That was his path.
…
After the black ghoul evolved into a Three-Fiend Walking Corpse, although it had not advanced to the next level of the Three Rivers Ghost Concealment, Wen Jiu was surprised to find that both its concealment duration and effectiveness had significantly improved—practically doubled.
Moving undetected, he reached the Night Patrol Division, where silence reigned. Only a few stone golems stood guard, allowing him to head straight for the dungeon.
The Night Patrol Division Dungeon was located within Fei Xian Peak's mountain body, primarily used to imprison disciples who violated sect rules. There was only one entrance, typically guarded by numerous stone golems and a steward overseeing security.
But now, only the stone golems remained.
First-rank stone golems could not detect Wen Jiu's presence. However, upon entering, he had to pass through a series of stone doors.
Opening them would create noise.
This would inevitably alert Gong Chi.
Thus, Wen Jiu first used the Three-Fiend Walking Corpse's senses to probe ahead. Skipping over the upper levels where Fei Xian Peak's disciples were imprisoned, he quickly locked onto Gong Chi—the Night Patrol Division elder, detained at the lowest level.
But at that moment, Gong Chi's expression suddenly hardened. He had sensed something watching him.
"Who's there?"
He put down The Carefree Chronicles and immediately stood up.
Something was spying on him, yet his divine sense detected nothing.
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Clearly.
The intruder's divine sense was stronger than his.
Could it be… a main peak elder?
The thought made Gong Chi's face change slightly. Then, he heard the heavy stone doors opening one after another.
Boom—
Boom—
Here it comes—the stone door leading to his cell was opening as well.
However.
There was nothing there.
Not even his divine sense could detect anything.
"Who's there?"
Gong Chi's expression darkened further.
A sense of unease surged within him.
Since no one responded, he could only guess—was it someone from the Tianzuo Alliance? But why would they come for him?
Were they insane?
He had worked so hard to remain hidden until now.
The next moment, a surge of ghostly energy erupted behind him. At the very instant it appeared, Gong Chi felt an overwhelming sense of danger. He instinctively attempted to use an artifact to propel himself out of the cell, but in the blink of an eye, a force of deadly energy and corpse qi exploded around him, binding his limbs.
He found himself utterly unable to move.
And in that same instant, an immense suction force descended upon him.
Terror gripped his soul.
A primal fear of death surged within him as he struggled to break free, but his body felt as if it was being held in an unrelenting grasp. Then, a pain like his very soul being torn apart erupted through him.
His soul was being ripped away—extracted!
The words "Soul Extraction" flashed through his mind, bringing an even deeper sense of horror.
He had never even heard of such a technique in the Tianzuo Alliance. A forbidden art capable of forcibly consuming a living person's soul? He had only come across it in ancient legends.
How could such a forbidden technique exist in this minor, death-ridden cultivation realm?
Who was trying to kill him?
A main peak elder?
Impossible.
If they wanted him dead, they wouldn't need to resort to an ambush.
The Tianzuo Alliance?
Even less likely.
He was a crucial chess piece for them in the Death Peak region.
Then who?
"I… I can't… die here…" Gong Chi gritted his teeth, blood seeping from his lips. Suddenly, an unfamiliar energy surged within him—an icy force entirely opposite to his own nature.
At that moment, his skin and features rapidly aged, as if he had aged ten or twenty years in an instant. Yet, at the same time, his aura peaked to an unprecedented level.
Boom—
With a thunderous roar, a wave of chilling energy erupted from his body.
Gong Chi broke free. In that instant, he summoned a mid-grade first-rank artifact—a flaming sphere—that shielded him. Simultaneously, he formed a hand seal, unleashing a move he had spent twenty years cultivating.
Three Yang Finger.
A technique bestowed by the Tianzuo Alliance Leader, acquired from a secret realm outside Death Peak. In its complete form, it was a Foundation Establishment-level technique. Even though he had only learned a fragment, it remained one of the most formidable Qi Refinement techniques.
On par with the main peak's most closely guarded secrets.
One strike.
Capable of slaying a Qi Refinement sixth-level cultivator.
A move that transcended realms to kill!
"Die!"
He turned and struck—a golden light flashed, its intricate patterns nearly imperceptible. A golden beam, as thick as a bowl's rim, burst forth, its terrifying energy radiating through Fei Xian Peak.
In that instant, Gong Chi finally saw his attacker.
A ghostly being?
It's him!
Memories flooded Gong Chi's mind—this was the same ghost cultivator who had stolen half of the Chen family's blood essence!
The mastermind behind the battle for the Blood Ink Three Thousand!
Why was he trying to kill him?
At that realization, all of Gong Chi's previous madness vanished. He turned and fled—he wasn't sure if his attack could kill this foe.
As he spun around, the golden beam streaked past, but the ghostly figure had already vanished.
Turning around—
It was right in front of him.
The sheer speed of it made Gong Chi sink into despair.
As he felt that force once again pulling at him, tearing at his soul, he could no longer maintain control over his magical artifact. He wanted to use the secret life-burning technique one more time, but if he did, even if the enemy spared him, he would have only a few years left to live.
No different from being dead.
But anything was better than dying now.
At that moment, Gong Chi prepared to unleash his secret technique again. However, just as he attempted to mobilize his spiritual power, he found himself completely unable to do so. Inwardly scanning his body, his eyes widened in horror—his meridians and dantian were teeming with countless Devour-Spirit Yin Worms.
The sheer number made his scalp tingle.
"How could there be Devour-Spirit Yin—" Before he could finish, his soul was forcibly ripped out of his body by the Three-Fiend Corpse.
And just as his consciousness began to fade, Wen Jiu's figure gradually came into view—before both he and the ghostly entity vanished from the dungeon in an instant.
Gong Chi's pupils dilated.
Wen Jiu?!
How could it be him?!
——
At the very moment Wen Jiu used the Blood Corpse Escape to flee, a figure appeared inside the collapsing dungeon.
Ye Chen.
His divine sense swept the area, but there was no one left. All he could detect were remnants of ghostly energy, fiendish aura, corpse qi, and the lifeless body of Gong Chi.
As his senses probed further, he immediately noticed the massive number of Devour-Spirit Yin Worms within Gong Chi's body, and his brows furrowed.
Ghostly energy? Fiendish aura? Corpse qi? And Devour-Spirit Yin Worms?
Such a chaotic mix.
"To have killed Gong Chi within ten breaths, leaving not even his soul behind… It must have been someone at the late-stage Qi Refining realm." But what shocked Ye Chen the most was that the killer had vanished without leaving the slightest trace of their presence.
Before he could dwell on it further, the dungeon had begun collapsing on a massive scale. With no time to waste, Ye Chen grabbed Gong Chi's body and retreated.
Not long after, Feng Xuan and the other two arrived, drawn by the disturbance.
They had seen the golden light piercing through the mountains and sensed the terrifying aura it emitted.
At first, they thought someone from the Tianzuo Alliance had infiltrated Fei Xian Peak, but upon arrival, all they saw was Elder Ye Chen and Gong Chi's corpse.