Yin Na’s cultivation base was accumulating qi at an incredible rate. In no time at all, he had reached the bottleneck, and surpassed the amount required for a breakthrough into the next stage, which was Golden Core.

With this many pills ingested, his breakthrough probability was guaranteed to succeed.

Yin Na sneered internally. An ignorant observer catching a glimpse of him now, with blood flowing from both nostrils, face flushing red from heat, would have assumed he was combatting a highly virulent fever. Who else but another cultivator would know that he was actually skipping months and years of cultivation time towards the next realm of power?

“The sacrifices I’ve made, the schemes I’ve plotted, the gambles I took…” Yin Na thought. “The mistakes I’ve learned from, the lessons I’ve put into practice, the trades I’ve negotiated, the luck I’ve stumbled upon, the young masters I’ve offended, the people I’ve befriended, the jade beauties I’ve conned, the fools I’ve betrayed… have all lead to this moment!”

Yin Na concentrated hard. The overwhelming spiritual power from the pills churned powerfully inside his Dan Tian. He had always been careful in planning the outline of his cultivation journey and usage of treasures for optimal progression. Nothing internally existed within him that conflicted with each other, for Yin Na did not indulge in cheap, trash Foundation.

At the critical moment, Yin Na’s Foundation sea began to bubble as if it were boiling.

From its sea arose a hulking, radiant sun.

A Grade A Golden Core, at 99% perfection!

Yin Na was overjoyed, smiling while drenched in a smelly substance made from his own purged impurities and filth, but he wasted no time.

“I now have a Golden Core, this will unlock many of the treasures that were inaccessible for me when I was just a Late Foundation stage expert in the Treasury.”

Yin Na returned to the treasure rooms with doors or chests that required Laws and Techniques that demanded the qi level and output of a Golden Core cultivator, and unlocked them.

Yin Na’s pupils expanded at the sight of many rare weapons and other artifacts that were locked behind higher-leveled talismans and seals.

Of course, he still wasn’t able to grab everything, as a couple of doors were sealed, meant only for Elders of the Yellow Fox Sect and its immortal cultivators to be able to access.

This did not stop Yin Na from trying his luck on these doors.

Just as he tried his luck and strength on the last door, the foundations of the Ice brick-enforced door crumbled before his Golden Core-enhanced techniques.

An odor reminiscent of fecal matter and garbage blasted out, assailing his nostrils, it put Yin Na immediately on guard.

Yin Na cautiously walked through the chamber to find…

“Oho, a Spicy Oil boar!” Yin Na’s eyes widened in appreciation as he covered his nose with his robe.

“It’s only a runt, perhaps that’s how the Yellow Fox Sect is able to suppress it here in this pet chamber. It’s been neglected for a while, it’s probably been re-eating its own waste to survive the past couple of weeks.”

Yin Na felt no pity for the beast at all. Instead, his eyes sparkled with the light of opportunity.

“And here I was worried that I would find no mounts, but this one would not only increase my movement speed, it’ll also increase my battle strength!”

Wasting no time, Yin Na withdrew several skinned animals and other meats he had stored in his void ring, and fed them to the grateful Spicy Oil runt. He then hopped on the saddle that was strapped onto the Heavenly Boar Baby’s back, as he fired sword rays from his fingertips onto the chains that were tethering the beast down.

With a crash, the side of the building housing the Pet chamber ripped open as Yin Na, a fresh Golden Core cultivator, flew in the sky to hunt his prey.

Meanwhile…

Even though all of the hounds from this attack were slain, no traces of their hunting party remained. The battlefield simply looked like a stampede of wild beasts ran through a forest, with human blood all over it. This is because only the main body of the Ethereal Hound would remain, the ones who pursued Xiao Ying were just his clones.

The righteous sect squad was victorious, but they were not without losses. They had actually lost two members!

“The hounds were indeed being controlled by a master remotely,” said Xiao Feng. “The moment they saw us, they changed their tactics…and started mobbing the weakest fighters. What a shame that we lost two of ours…”

At the loss of life, Xiao Feng’s eyes grew misty before he wiped them with his robe. Then he turned to look at the nearly catatonic Yellow Fox Sect member, strapped securely to one of the righteous cultivator's turtle mount.

“She’s…a demonic cultivator,” he said.

“Correct,” said his master Tian Ji Han. Tian Ji Han was standing on the turtle shell beside the girl, healing her with light from his palms.

“But she’s only of beginning Qi Condensation stage, she could not have done much crimes or evil, right?”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

There was no anger or hatred in Xiao Feng’s words or expressions. Tian Ji Han sighed at his apprentice’s benevolence. It was a rule that the righteous sect cultivators attacked demonic cultivators on sight.

“It’s not that simple, Xiao Feng,” said Tian Ji Han. “Yes, she is young, and judging from appearance she has probably never even taken a human life. I will see to it that she will be tried and held accountable by the sect elders. Right now, I see only a girl who has clearly suffered at the hands of the cultivator who was my former Dao brother.”

“Hmph!” one of the righteous sect members growled. “Saving this one brat better have been worth the lives of two of my brothers!”

“Uh…” the girl began to stir.

“Wake up,” said Tian Ji Han, with the stern tenderness of a true Righteous cultivator. “You have been saved by righteous Heavenly Sword sect cultivators. Two of us have given their lives in attempting to save you. At the very least, you owe us some answers to our questions.

“What is your name?”

“X-Xiao Ying,” she said. She knew how deep the rift between Demonic and Righteous sect cultivators were, but at the moment all she wanted was comfort. Her first thought was, why was this man so mean to me?

“Did you meet a demonic cultivator named Yin Na?”

Tian Ji Han immediately cut to the question. Xiao Ying, who was still weak and disoriented, suddenly widened her eyes as if she was still reliving the nightmare from the day before.

“N-no!” she screamed shrilly.

Tian Ji Han’s eyes turned cold, as he pressed on.

“Long, black hair, cold emotionless eyes, wears a void ring that summons a plethora of treasures and beasts?”

“Noooo!” Xiao Ying cried. Tian Ji Han let her sob into his robe.

“So you did meet him,” said Tian Ji Han. “It appears my investigation was worth it all along. Now that I’ve broken through to Golden Core, my strength has grown, as well as my funds from the Heavenly Sword sect. Using the spirit stones from my own pocket, I put in a request for a Sect mission that I undertook myself. I tracked Yin Na’s presence and steps in nearby mortal villages and cities, learned about the people he associated and interrogated people who made dealings with him.

“And they all lead vaguely to the Green Bamboo Valley, where the Yellow Fox Sect is. It makes sense now, that the direction those Ethereal Hounds appeared from came from the same general direction of the Yellow Fox Sect. Now, tell me what happened.”

Tian Ji Han’s voice poured on her mind like a cup of warm, soothing tea. Xiao Ying was slowly won over by the calm and confident voice of this Golden Core cultivator’s words, and when she regained clarity, began to recount yesterday’s events.

…

“I…I can’t believe it,” Xiao Feng was trembling on his mount, the bamboo slips on his book mount rattled. “How could two cultivators wield such power?”

“Because it’s Yin Na, and because it’s him, it’s really the work of one cultivator,” thought Tian Ji Han. “I’m regretting now that I didn’t bring more men…”

At the end of Xiao Ying’s talking, Tian Ji Han took prudent action: he took out a jade slip, and transmitted the information he recorded back to Heavenly Sword Sect.

In the transmission, he relayed two things: the synopsis of the crimes of Yin Na slaughtering the Yellow Fox Sect, and the urgent request for reinforcements.

“Yin Na is indeed the careful, cautious kind of cultivator who would cover his tracks. How else did he make it so difficult for me to track him all these years?”

Tian Ji Han stood up and declared: “I believe this girl whole-heartedly. If all of her events recounted are true, then that means Yin Na, to say nothing of his companion Deng Ping, is carrying enough treasures and artifacts to rival the power of a Desolate beast. He also expended considerable qi in sending the Ethereal Hounds’ doppelgangers out in order to hunt the remaining stragglers of the Yellow Fox Sect. All this effort, just to cover his tracks, to kill all witnesses, to be thorough- that’s the Yin Na I know.

He may be the most shamelessly greedy cultivator alive, yet he knows how and when to restrain himself. He knows when to strike, as according to the arts of war. He knows the importance of witnesses and how their silencing assures his continuous success in his evil deeds. He is careful in all his calculations, and luck seems to always favor his every move.

Unfortunately for him, this girl just so happened to be rescued by us. Soon, all of Heaven will know of his actions, and those affected wil take action.”

At Tian Ji Han’s speech, the hearts of the Righteous Sect cultivators were moved! Xiao Ling’s eyes teared up, knowing he was referring to the Yellow Fox Sect higher-level cultivators who were not there at the sect. They will eventually find out, and seek vengeance on Yin Na!

“However, the truth doesn’t spread through the realm in one day, and our Condor Valley is a couple hundred li away. We don’t have time to wait for reinforcements. I’m sure most of you were aware that the Ethereal Hounds’ third eye allows communication with its master at all times. This means Yin Na knows I am coming for him!”

“Oh no!” the other righteous cultivators were startled, their faces paled. “What are we doing here, we should be preparing formation!”

“I initially thought he would not show up,” said Tian Ji Han. “There was the possibility that due to his cautious nature, Yin Na would be wary of our numbers and the fact that I am a Golden Core cultivator. But it is Yin Na we are dealing with…he plotted and made arrangements for ten years to destroy the Hidden Sword Sect...and succeeded at the age of 18, as a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator.”

“Ten years! That would mean he was only eight years old when he began his plans,” Xiao Feng said.

Just how frightening was this youth that he’d show signs of his nefarious cunning talent at so early an age?

“To start on the path of a demon, when he was at such a young age, he must be a real monster now,” said the burly cultivator.

He had previously mockingly joked that Tian Ji Han’s stories about Yin Na were simply exaggerated horror stories. But after witnessing his remote handiwork, seeing two of his brothers dead, he felt nothing but chill dread.

Tian Ji Han’s eyes flashed, his expression suddenly turned intense.

“Yes, and right now, I just sensed the approach of a really strong cultivator a few li away, coming from the same direction of the Hounds…”

“So the bastard’s come after all!” shouted one cultivator.

“Don’t panic,” said Tian Ji Han, “We still outnumber him five to one. Let us utilize Diamond formation!”

“Diamond formation?” Xiao Feng was confused, he looked at his master without speaking. “Master, are you not using me in the formation?”

“You are best left hidden,” transmitted Tian Ji Han with his mind. “You’ll be our hidden trump card!”

Xiao Feng was smart, if his master said one thing, he as an apprentice understood ten.

Xiao Feng nodded with a pained expression on his face, and flew out of sight on his book mount.

Not even in the time an incense stick takes to burn, the man of the hour had arrived!

“Hello, all of you trash courting death!”