Human Qi differed from the Qi of the surrounding world. It carried the imprint of its owner’s consciousness, which meant it needed to be "purified" before absorption—a process the locals described as erasing its distinguishing features. In my terms, it was akin to rewriting the energy's modulation to strip away its unique characteristics. This wasn’t a quick task, so I decided to temporarily create another Qi reservoir in my body, especially since Sun Zi Liang’s Qi Thread was still intact. As a result, an energy cavity formed in my left forearm, storing at least seventy percent of the Qi that had been the foundation of Sun Zi Liang’s cultivation.

Pulling my hand from the now-cold corpse, I cleansed it of blood with a small burst of energy and began covering my tracks. First, the bodies of all three cultivators, along with their leader’s head, went into the "ravine." Even from here, I could hear the ominous growling of the monsters roaming below. The rain had turned into a full downpour, ensuring the traces of our fight would be washed away by morning. I didn’t neglect to retrieve the traitor’s body and dispose of it similarly.

Afterward, I found a secluded spot sheltered from the rain and began investigating the contents of Sun Zi Liang’s spatial ring. At first, I couldn’t open it; it refused to respond to my Qi. Mixing my Qi with the Qi stored in my left arm, however, allowed me to bypass this issue. Inside, I found several high-grade healing pills, a hundred small crystals containing Qi with pleasant characteristics, a slightly larger crystal, an even bigger one filled with strange Qi, and… a small jade cube covered in inscriptions on all sides.

I turned the cube over in my hands and scanned it with psionics but couldn’t discern its purpose. Upon examining the inscriptions, I deduced that it served as a "carrier" for recording the previous owner’s thoughts. Since I didn’t possess a technique to directly read such recordings, I decided to use the device in the alchemist’s workshop.

With nothing else of note in the ring, I began pondering what to do with my newfound wealth. Wearing the ring openly wasn’t an option. Sun Zi Liang’s death wouldn’t go unnoticed, and everyone would be scrutinized. The ring needed to be hidden. However, when I attempted to stash it in an unremarkable crevice in the grotto where I was sitting, the ring began emitting unusual Qi. The energy expenditure was minimal, but the effect resembled a fractal: the ring structured Qi around itself in expanding patterns, creating a detectable disturbance within a hundred-meter radius.

This was clearly some kind of "anti-theft" mechanism. The ring was meant to remain on its owner’s finger. Anyone trying to steal it would struggle to move it past any patrol or even a curious cultivator. There was likely another safeguard to prevent unauthorized individuals from wearing it, but I wasn’t reckless enough to test it on myself.

After some tinkering, I discovered a relatively simple way to disable the "alarm." Placing a Qi-charged stone inside the ring caused it to "believe" it was on its owner’s finger. The protection was primitive and barely lasted a few minutes against someone as skilled in circumventing the fabric of reality as I was.

Hiding the ring under a conspicuous tree in the forest, I returned to my designated "cell" near the alchemist’s workshop. After changing into dry clothes, I headed to the library. Chu Zhu Zhu had finished his experiments, and Dao Yu had gone off to meditate, leaving me free to access the device. I placed the jade cube on the reader. For five seconds, the device charged the cube with Qi before activating its reading function.

Scanning the "journal," I found nothing useful. Sun Zi Liang had mostly recorded how much he had loaned or repaid, what he had spent on bribes, and what he had extorted from other disciples. The entries also confirmed that his family held significant influence in the sect.

After pocketing the cube, my hand brushed against another piece of jade—my "find" from the expedition. Without much hope for results, I placed it on the reader and waited. This time, the jade absorbed Qi for nearly a full minute before the device indicated readiness. Directing my Qi into the reader, I deciphered a short message:

"Today, I, Lü Ba Yan, begin my journal. After discovering an ancient treasure during the sect’s initiation trial, my future accomplishments will shake the world. I’ll describe the trial in detail later, but for now, I must investigate the commotion caused by the junior disciples in camp."

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Ha! Some journal. I had a pretty good idea what caused the commotion mentioned—likely the beast that had devoured this "genius cultivator."

I was about to retrieve the jade and leave to meditate when Chu Zhu Zhu unexpectedly entered the hall.

"What are you doing here?" - he asked suspiciously, eyeing the jade piece. - "And what’s that?"

"During today’s expedition, I found this journal belonging to a great ancient cultivator" - I replied.

"What?" - the alchemist exclaimed, his eyes blazing with curiosity as he stared at the jade.

"You’re welcome to read it yourself" - I said, extending my hand invitingly.

Chu Zhu Zhu scurried to the device and placed his hand on it. His face brimmed with anticipation, as though he expected some great miracle. However, after a few seconds, his expression shifted to confusion and then disappointment.

"It’s an extremely short journal" - he declared.

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. - "I found this jade in the forest. I didn’t even think there’d be anything on it."

"This low-grade jade is useless" - the teacher remarked, picking it up and inspecting it. - "Even this one entry nearly filled its capacity."

"Alright, I’m off to sleep" - I said with a wave, leaving the hall and letting my "treasure" remain in its new owner’s hands.

In reality, I didn’t go to sleep immediately. First, I hid the jade cube with incriminating evidence inside the spatial ring, which I buried under the same tree. Only then I settled down to slowly and meticulously process the Qi I had extracted from the corpse.

By morning, the camp was abuzz with the shocking news: the grandson of one of the elders of our Heavenly Blades Sect had been found murdered nearby. The unfortunate Sun Zi Liang had been slain with his own sword, decapitated, and his entire reserve of cultivated Qi drained from his body. The style of the killing bore the hallmarks of the Black Lotus Sect.

Of course, the elder’s grandson couldn’t have been without bodyguards. However, it turned out they had been spending the night "entertaining" themselves with female disciples, raping them non-stop until dawn. It wasn’t until morning that they began searching for their lord, only to find no trace of him. They reported his disappearance to the camp leadership, who involved the guards. Before long, Sun Zi Liang’s partially eaten corpse was discovered in the "ravine," the guards’ first search location. Since no trace of Qi remained in his body, the wild beasts hadn’t entirely devoured him, though they had feasted on his entrails and liver. His head, however, was intact, leaving no doubt about the corpse’s identity.

I overheard this news while Chu Zhu Zhu was discussing it with another alchemist under his charge. By midday, a crowd of "enforcers" arrived at the camp, cordoned off the area, and began searching all the premises and interrogating the disciples about what they had seen, where, and when. We weren’t informed of their conclusions, but judging by the questions they asked me, their main theory was that the elder’s grandson had been assassinated by the Black Lotus Sect to tarnish the elder’s reputation and eliminate a prodigious cultivator who might have become one of the sect’s strongest warriors.

By evening, Elder Sun Wei Bonk himself arrived at the camp. He listened to the reports from his men, personally interrogated the delinquent bodyguards and their assaulted victims, and then pronounced his decision.

At sunset, Sun Zi Liang’s body was burned on a funeral pyre. Alongside him, the three bodyguards were burned alive. The youngest bodyguard and the Sun family servant who had died with their master left no remains, only bloodstained, torn garments confirmed that they, too, had met their end in the ravine.

I was impressed by Sun Wei Bonk. Despite being over fifty, he looked fit and vigorous. When he used a fire element technique to ignite the pyre and burn the bodyguards, the spectacle was incredibly dramatic. The entire camp watched the ceremony, and I even had the honor of a prominent position next to Chu Zhu Zhu.

After the pyre burned down and all the honors befitting the elder’s grandson had been rendered, Sun Wei Bonk unexpectedly turned to one of the camp leaders.

"I hear there’s a talented disciple in the camp this year?" - he inquired.

"Yes, Your Grace. His name is Tan Ji Tao. He’s standing over there with our master alchemist" - the leader replied.

"Come here" - the elder commanded. I had no choice but to obey. With his eighth-level Core Crystallization cultivation, he could incinerate me with a mere thought.

I approached the local big boss. He placed his hand on my shoulder and used his Qi to probe every corner of my body. However, he found nothing suspicious. By now, I had fully absorbed his grandson’s Qi and dissolved the temporary storage structure in my left arm. The only thing in my pockets was a single Weak Qi Pill, which I had placed there specifically to provide something innocuous during any search.