The middle stage Energy Gatherers Li Lang had fought so far could only send out range attacks. Doing so did not require controlling their Qi at range. They simply needed to send it out, akin to throwing a rock. Right after they throw it, they would lose control of their Qi.

However, late-stage Energy Gatherers were different. They could control their Qi attacks even after firing them off. That was because they could control the Qi even when it was a distance away from their body.

This allowed for more complicated techniques and accuracy. It opened cultivators up to an entirely new category of Qi arts.

The Blood Qi Dissolution Art was part of this new category of techniques.

A lot of the texts went over how they actually carry out this technique, and not a lot of it was on the theory. There was enough of it for Li Lang to realize how hard it was to drain the Qi out of things.

The blood techniques weren’t something he could easily learn, as it was a special technique practiced by the Bloodwave Conclave. That was why he repeatedly took trips from the artifact space and reality to copy down the contents. He believed it could still prove useful as reference material in the future.

By the time he was done copying over the manual, it was deep into the night. Li Lang quickly went to bed.

Throughout the next three days, the trio stayed at the Bloodwave Conclave. They performed the same duties, as Tai Xilun had already arranged various meetings. They still tested the DNA of these guests, despite already having found their match, just to be safe.

On the fourth day, all the meetings were completed. They found themselves with some free time, as they were warned not to wander. The last thing they needed was someone questioning their presence.

They spent the time redoubling their efforts in their training. They all had martial arts and Qi arts to practice, as they were far from true mastery of any of them.

As they trained, only Huang Si came to see them. Tai Xilun had been too busy with his shadowing of the culprit they had discovered. Still, unbeknownst to the trio, Tai Xilun had kept his promise and had been keeping a watch over them.

It was at the end of the week that they finally came face to face with Tai Xilun once more.

“Is it over?” Li Lang cautiously asked.

“...That is a good question. I would like to say yes, but things weren’t so simple.”

“What do you mean? Did that Gui Hong guy escape?” Long Yi quipped with a tinge of fear in his voice.

“No, he’s dead.” Tai Xilun gestured for them to remain silent as he elaborated. “He’s been dead before we had even talked to him. Someone had been disguising themselves as him. Someone powerful. Thankfully, I had informed the conclave master about the matter before setting up my ambush. He wasn’t someone I could handle alone. Still, even with the conclave master’s help, he got away.”

Long Yi looked between his friends with a grimace.

“What do we do? Are we screwed or what?”

“About that…” Tai Xilun continued. “There shouldn’t be anything you need to fear. Your involvement is well hidden, and this mysterious culprit should be fleeing out of the Luminescent Domain soon. Our conclave master had wounded him and had gotten a good look at his real face. He would be stupid to remain here unless he wants to be hunted down.”

Wei Ping, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up.

“W-will he come back o-once he recovers?”

“Hmm, I would say the chances are low. Most demonic cultivators who run to righteous sects’ territories never come back. The only way they survive there is to become dogs of those sects.”

At those words, it was Li Lang’s turn to break the silence.

“What do you mean?”

“I guess you kids may not know. No… it’s more accurate to say the orthodox sects kept it from you. After all, they rely on these rogue demonic cultivators to instill loyalty in their disciples.”

A look of realization hit Li Lang all at once.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“...You can’t mean.”

“The orthodox sects employ demonic cultivators to do their bidding. They most famously use them to murder any relatives of potential disciples with high talent. An orphaned child with a grudge is one of the easiest people to brainwash. They justify their means as a way to control potentially dangerous people, but they’re really just scared of someone overtaking them.”

So it’s true after all…

Immediately, various scenes from the past flashed through Li Lang’s eyes. He had already suspected something was off back when he first encountered a demonic cultivator. They had appeared at such a convenient time, just after the Clear Heart Sect entrance tests.

It was difficult to believe that a random demonic cultivator would have caught the news of Zi Xi and Zi Xiao Mei’s high aptitude so quickly.

But in that case, is the Abductress under the employ of a sect too? No way…everyone I’ve talked to was scared of her. And her actions did not benefit any sect, and only herself…

“What those so-called righteous sects do may not be common knowledge in the Luminescent Domain, but it is still known among many. Nevertheless, there’s nothing we can do to warn people outside our territory, as they would never believe in our words. We have no reach in their territories. There’s no longer anything we can do to the fake Gui Hong as long as he stays there.”

“...Don’t demonic cultivators attack their territory often, anyway? Surely, you can send people after him.”

Tai Xilun smiled wryly and shook his head.

“That is too dangerous. The risks aren’t worth the benefits.”

Seeing Li Lang’s unconvinced expression, he continued.

“Since you have embarked on the path of demonic cultivation, you should know it’s dangerous for us to infiltrate into hostile territory. The isolation and tension make us prone to cultivation deviation. That is why we always invade their territory in groups.”

“...”

Seeing no response, Tai Xilun also stayed silent as everyone organized their thoughts. They wordlessly agreed to no longer pursue the matter, as it likely wasn’t getting anywhere.

After a while, they decided to end the meeting. The news was relayed and matters were settled. They each had other business to attend to.

Huang Si proceeded to guide them out of the Bloodwave Conclave headquarters. Once they were outside, he discreetly handed over a small bottle to Li Lang. No words needed to be exchanged to know it contained their reward; three Foundation Pills.

“Take care. I’ll see you guys in a few months,” the Bloodwave disciple clasped his fist together at the trio.

“Yes, we’ll be in your care then.”

The two parties parted amicably.

However, they didn’t return immediately. They veered back into the Bloodwave Conclave bazaar and visited their knowledge repository. There, Li Lang searched for any texts that had information about various Qi techniques that eliminated their traces, or one about meridians.

His search soon turned up to be fruitless, and he had to leave empty-handed. The topics he was searching for were either rare or kept secret.

When Li Lang’s group returned to their inn, they found that Huang Si had also taken care of their bill while they were gone. Their room was left untouched. Having finally returned to their temporary home, they took some time to laze around.

“It’s good to be back in my own bed,” Long Yi celebrated.

“T-that is the i-inn’s bed. N-not yours.”

“You and your technicalities. Let me have my moment.”

As Long Yi snuggled up against the blankets, Li Lang was busy preparing for the day.

He was currently learning both Brushweaving and Alchemy. In his spare time, he also had to monitor their condition from using the Clearing Drug. He didn’t even have enough time to investigate how to increase the number of spiritual roots. However, that was mostly because he didn’t have any clues about how to get started.

That topic was just too intangible. He would have to spend too much time to stumble upon something viable. In order to better make use of his time, he only pursued research topics that were most likely to produce results. Li Lang lamented that even in this life, he had to prioritize the research based on results.

After lunch, the trio split off to resume their crafts training. Li Lang naturally went back to Zhao Longwei’s place while carrying his pill furnace with him.

“Senior Zhao, sorry for being absent for the past week.”

The middle-aged man stroked his chin and gestured for Li Lang to place down his furnace.

“No big deal. The people from the Bloodwave Conclave had already informed me you’d be away. I’ll refrain from asking for the details. Now that you’re here, I expect you to be fully dedicated to my teachings and to being my assistant.

“Of course, Senior.”

Li Lang spent half the afternoon there, being instructed by his mentor as he performed basic pill refining using the new techniques. Then they discussed the details and tricks on how to make use of those techniques.

However, Zhao Longwei couldn’t dedicate all his time to Li Lang. He had other things to do. When he excused himself, so too did Li Lang.

It wasn’t because he was lazy, but because he wanted to meet up with his other mentor.

Yi Lin had indicated he would be gone for a week and more than enough time had passed since then. Li Lang wanted to greet his mentor after his brief hiatus and continue learning more advanced techniques.

When he knocked on his Brushweaving mentor’s adobe, he was greeted with a familiar face.

The man hadn’t changed, and his place was still in a mess. He scratched his head as he opened the door. The moment he recognized Li Lang, a faint smile formed on his face.

“How have you been? Did you keep up with practice?”

“Hmm…It’s a long story, but I did the best I could.”

“Then come on in. We have time.”

With that, the teacher and student reunited, and Li Lang began his second lesson of the day.