The moon hung low in the sky, casting a pale glow over the dark forest that my team of Blood Essence martial artists rushed through, their footsteps soundless, their breaths controlled.

I couldn't help but feel impressed by the speed and elegance they moved. A part of it was their experience, as the demonic cultivator base wasn't the first one they had been attacking. That wasn't even the first one of the night.

While I had slipped the information about demonic cultivator infiltration to Entsa Pavilion, I didn't rely on them to deal with the bases spread around the mortal domain. More accurately, I couldn't. Even if it wasn't for their clearly losing state during the battle to show that they weren't in a position to interfere, I wouldn't trust cultivators when it came to the security of the mortals.

Calling their perspective about mortals warped was an understatement. For a significant amount cultivators, anyone without an Immortal Root was like an animal, not worthy of notice.

Based on that, I couldn't help but feel glad for the existence of Providence. While it had a nonsensical way of judging many situations, it at least punished the needless murder. Combined with the fact that mortals often didn't have much to offer, it made it more sustainable for the cultivators to separate themselves rather than rule the lands directly.

That was true even for demonic cultivators. They were careful during the massacres they planned because they were afraid of the punishment of the Heavens. Every demonic cultivator I battled against had a thick cloud of Providence around them, but instead of helping them, it impeded their actions.

Of course, with the amount of negative providence around them, the minor bouts of unluckiness shouldn't be the limit of what they had been experiencing, but luckily, I had received several methods of Demonic Cultivation to understand the mystery behind it.

A significant part of the demonic cultivation was actually aimed at reducing and tricking heavenly punishment, from bleeding it through manageable responses to accumulation and avoidance. Those abilities were as important as the sacrificial rituals they conducted to rapidly increase their cultivation.

I was certainly glad that even the demonic cultivators had their limitations when it came to targeting mortals.

"What a weird world," I muttered even as I started building a formation around the base, one that would delay any attempt to call for reinforcements.

I chose to delay the requests rather than block them altogether. It was a trick that I used for the other bases as well. There were two reasons. First, I didn't want to alert the enemy too much, and a good way to do that was to make the battle more balanced than it seemed. Which was why, whenever the battle ended, I made sure to adjust the landscape accordingly, making it look like the base had fallen to enemy cultivators.

More importantly, I was baiting for reinforcements, but only after the martial artists were able to retreat safely. Trying to trap the enemy was good, but not at the cost of using my growing army as a sacrifice.

"How perspective can change in a blink," I muttered even as I continued to construct the formation to block the communication. Just months ago, all I wanted was to find a safe hideout where I could enjoy my life while gaining power, thinking that having the power of Connate Realm martial artists would be enough to ensure a good living.

And, now, I was a weird mixture of a wise wizard trying to guide heroes of the land, and a leader of a rebellion movement, my responsibilities piling up more and more.

"Enough thinking," I muttered even as I turned my attention to the hidden enclave at the valley, carefully dismantling the traps that filled the surface. Well, not the traps themselves, but their damage-dealing aspects, so that if they triggered a trap, they would know it, and act accordingly in the future.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

I couldn't hover above them continuously to protect them. Nor it was fair for me to ask that. Ultimately, while I helped them to climb the stairs of power faster than they would be able to it didn't change the fact that each one of them was a master in their own right, warriors who had refined their bodies and blood with the essence of martial arts.

Not only that, but the recovery of the mountain that was at the center of their martial arts sped up the recovery of their local spiritual pillar as well, which increased their power significantly. Previously, I expected them to fight against the peak of Qi Refinement at best, but now, I was confident that they would put up a good fight against the weaker Foundation Establishment forces.

With all that power, they lost the luxury of being babied, particularly since they had volunteered to fight — a fact that I repeated several times.

I turned my attention toward the target, who I felt absolutely no mercy toward despite the great mismatch. The demonic cultivators that filled the base had been preying on isolated villages, conducting dark rituals that drained the life essence from innocents to fuel their twisted pursuits.

They didn't deserve a fair fight.

I watched as the team approached the clearing bathed in an eerie crimson light. The demonic cultivators had erected a crude altar at its center, surrounded by flickering black candles that cast long, distorted shadows. Hooded figures moved about, guarding the altar.

I decided to deal with the altar while they dealt with the rest. It looked like something tricky to be just smashed down. Instead, I sent them a signal to circle around and hit the underground fortress.

They dispersed silently, circling the clearing to slip into the underground base, I observed them through the formations. For a long while, silence ruled as they dealt with the guards with ease. Then, they moved to the rooms, silently dealing with the sleeping forces, showing no mercy.

Not after all the disasters they had seen in the other bases. Blades flashed in the flickering light of the candles, and the sickening thud of bodies hitting the ground punctuated the chants that faltered and died on the lips of our enemies.

Soon, I met with a surprise. About eight Qi Gathering cultivators, each swallowing a pill before their power spiked. I frowned as I examined the process from a distance, feeling a primal sense of discomfort.

It wasn't the strength they displayed that scared me. Not that the spike was anything insignificant. From a raw presence, it felt almost close to peak Foundation Establishment, but I doubted it was a comprehensive improvement as the aura suggested.

There were many reasons I disdained the cultivators, but their capacity to fight was not one of them. They had the raw power, but their real might came from the intricacy of the techniques to truly deliver the attacks.

No, while the forced improvement of their power was intimidating, I trusted my team to handle the mess. What alarmed me was the sickly aura that covered them, too similar to the one I was feeling from the altar.

It indicated that the base was more important than the other satellite locations I had targeted.

But, instead of taking action, I watched as the martial artists steadily dealt with the cultivators, their sudden burst turning even more useless than I expected, as it actually caused them to lose control, allowing the martial artists to dance around their desperate attacks and work on as a team.

"Pull back to the flying ship," I ordered when they came out of the base, victorious, but I didn't accompany them.

Instead, I started manipulating the battlefield. I went down, using various Qi attacks to erase the signs of martial arts and replace them with cultivator activity, predominantly relying on fist art. It went smoothly, as it was not the first time I was erasing the evidence. Soon, it looked like the base had been attacked by the Kartpa Valley cultivators.

I would have preferred to blame Dragon Peak, Kartpa Valley was the easiest for me to fake acting. And, considering I expected a secondary attack to arrive, I made sure to add those changes.

I brought the bodies of the demonic cultivators to spread them around the altar, making it look like they had died while defending it. Then, I placed a dozen different types of poison around the perimeter, all belonging to Kartpa Valley, designed to destroy cultivation while leaving the targets alive.

Only I retreated safely back to the base, I had let the messages requesting support go out.

A few seconds later, I tensed as I felt the approaching auras. Four Golden Core Cultivators.

Even with the trap, it was not a confrontation I would have wanted to take if it wasn't for the danger presented by the Treasure Pavilion, but with the situation forced…

"Be ready for a fight," I ordered the hundred Blood Essence Martial artists, waiting for the arrival of the reinforcements.