Knock knock.

Krimin’s eyes shot open from his meditation as the door to his room was knocked upon, he had been holed up in here since the Grand Elder of the sect had asked him to.

“I want to avoid another fight with that ill mannered fool.” An annoying thought passed through his mind.

He deployed his Divine sense and to his surprise he found that it was actually Daiyu, the woman who had been keeping Orion in check.

The door opened slowly as it was pushed by his Divine sense.

The veiled woman walked in, but Krimin didn’t pay her any attention, he continued to mentally practice his saber forms.

His spiritual sense moved around before him reflecting the actions he was taking in his head.

“I always found sword and saber techniques interesting.”

She spoke as she sat down on a chair in the room, her expression neutral.

“Like a brush of wind causing a tornado, a stroke of a sword initiates resonance with the heavens triggering power otherwise thought impossible.”

Krimin exhaled slowly.

“Why do you think that is?” she continued to ask him.

“The blade and the dance of the blade are a form of art, the art appeals to the Beastial Origin and the Beastial Origin bestows upon it, identity...That aside, make yourself clear, you have not come here to speak of my blade.”

Daiyu nodded.

“A satisfactory yet biased answer indeed.”

She waved her hand and a scroll appeared from her storage ring.

Without warning she tossed it to him.

Krimin grabbed the scroll and read it over, he frowned slightly as he finished reading it.

“So you know of my relation with the Flowing River Sect.”

Daiyu smirked.

“Relation, that hardly covers it. You were actively extorting the sect and asking them to look into the creature we’re going to hunt now. Normally you’d be executed along with any accomplices.”

Krimin remained silent, his hand was instinctually reaching for his saber but he knew in a situation with a Heavenly Eye cultivator on the ship, he had no chance of escape.

“Stop your panic, only I know of the truth for now, I heard from a certain heartbroken disciple of the Flowing River Sect. He also told me something I need to confirm.”

Krimin halted his hand from unsheathing his saber.

“Is there a reason you’re withholding this from your sect? Are you a fellow worshiper of the Beastial Origin?”

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He realized that she wanted something from him or she had the same goal as him.

“Incorrect, I do not worship anyone.” Her expression soured as she spoke.

Krimin became even more perplexed at the situation.

“However it is true I want something from you, as you have read, the scroll describes your relationship with them up until the point they were destroyed.”

Krimin nodded.

“Shine some light on who or what destroyed the sect, and don’t cite the Hiding Demon sect, not only was their leader found dead in a pile of ash with the Leader of the Flowing River sect, but the entire clan seemingly vanished without trace.”

Krimin rubbed his chin as he deliberated about what to say.

“There’s no real risk to telling her about the swordswoman and her lord, I don’t see any reason I cannot say it.” he thought to himself before opening his mouth to speak.

Daiyu looked at him expectantly.

“There were two people I did not recognize, a young man with black hair and red eyes, with either a concealed cultivation base or one so great I could not see through it, and a swordswoman relative to me in strength.”

Daiyu’s expression shifted to anger unbelievably quickly, something in her eyes just changed, it was as if a flip was switched.

“A young man with black hair and red eyes, any other identifying features?” her tone also changed to exude hostility.

“He held a fan in his hand.”

Krimin thought about ways to describe him, and Daiyu continued to frown.

“Are you sure you aren’t leaving anything out, such as where he could be heading or what he said to you?”

Krimin began to grow suspicious of Daiyu’s obsession with the red eyed man.

“Are you implying something?”

He asked, trying to probe her knowledge.

Daiyu stood up and began to walk towards him.

“I’m asking you as a Caelum Juravi, were you able to shake his hand!?”

Kirmin’s hand instantly shot to his sword as he was about to unsheathe it.

This was when he felt his hand slow down exponentially, it was still moving but slow enough to the point that it looked like it wasn’t.

“If I had a reason to kill or harm you I would have exposed your deeds to the grand elder and had him dispose of you.”

She spoke while trying to hold back immense hatred for something.

“If you know about all that, why are you still asking me questions?”

She exhaled slowly, trying to vent out some of her underlying rage.

“I’m asking because I’m looking for someone.”

She walked back to her seat and sat down, breathing in and out slowly on the walk to her seat. Whatever the reason for this was it was obvious she held great hate for the person in question.

“I know you’re an unorthodox cultivator and a Caelum Juravi, here trying to become the Gu demon. And I don’t care about that, but I doubt even you would like to see the death of the infinite many mortal realms, which includes your clan.”

Krimin was completely blindsided by her response, there was no version of that conversation in which he could have predicted that response.

“Death of the Mortal realms, of my clan?”

Daiyu nodded.

“The man you saw, I suspect he’s someone called Feng Zhiming.”

Krimin was still confused.

“That doesn’t help answer my question.” he stated with furrowed brows.

She looked him dead in the eyes, without a hint of falsity nor exaggeration.

“If we don’t put a stop to him, he will eventually step foot on a warpath, he will be known as the Bane of all that is, the end. He’s a mentally fractured thing without a moral compass.”

Krimin was speechless.

“Don’t you get it? He’s going to be the greatest genocider that ever will be, in his twisted quest of insanity, he will burn everything to the ground, he’s a madman that needs to be annihilated!”

“Just what are you saying? How could he ever hold that level of power?” Krimin was still in disbelief at the bold claims, how could the Beastial Origin ever allow the things she said?

“I promise that if we cannot stop it from setting foot on the path of madness, if we cannot stop the Destined Crow of Calamity. We may as well forfeit our lives right here.”