Thick blood gurgled from Cheng Yu’s mouth, his gaze gradually unfocused.

In the last few seconds of his life, he felt all the blood in his body surge towards the wound in his neck.

"...Uh..."

Sheng Nian exerted force with his right hand, trying to pull the blade from Cheng Yu’s neck.

But he found it somewhat inconvenient to apply force this way.

So, he took a small step back with his left foot, and placed his right foot on Cheng Yu’s already congealed face.

He pushed down hard.

Bang!!!

The horizontal blade was pulled out.

A large amount of blood erupted like an explosion from Cheng Yu’s throat.

"Demonic Cultivator ambush!"

Only now did the surrounding Disciples vaguely react.

Protective Spiritual Qi bloomed around them, and some hurriedly sent out a Spiritual Light, scrambling to ascend into the night sky from outside the courtyard.

That was the distress signal of the Six Sects’ Disciples.

Sheng Nian drew his blade and slashed horizontally, the surging blood Qi sweeping away the surrounding Disciples.

"Consider yourselves lucky."

If Cheng Yu had been even slightly on guard, killing him would have taken some effort, and it’s likely several of these people around would have died.

Sheng Nian’s blood Qi was surging, his aura fierce and terrifying.

The few Disciples around him truly had no intention of fighting.

All they were thinking about was how to preserve their lives before reinforcements arrived.

However, they saw that the opponent also had no intention of prolonging the battle.

With a flash of the blade, he made a few leaps, his figure disappearing into the night.

By the time Dai Rui arrived with a patrol team, the blood flowing from Cheng Yu had already been washed away by the heavy rain.

A group of Cultivators gathered in the courtyard, looking at the incomparably tragic corpse.

Not a single person spoke.

Since Changping opened for business until today, it wasn’t that there had been no casualties among the Disciples of the Six Major Sects.

But the scattered few were all due to encountering Demonic Cultivator ambushes while out, just like Song Yan encountering the Five Han Mountain Demons.

However, Cheng Yu was the first to die within the patrol area under Changping’s jurisdiction.

A thought arose simultaneously in the hearts of all the Cultivators.

"Will he be the last one?"

...The next day.

Lianheng Tower.

Several Elders in charge gathered to listen to the reports from Cong Yuzhen, Dai Rui, and others.

As one of the informed parties in this matter, Song Yan was also present.

"Last night, only Lyu Qin appeared in Cheng Family Village. This Disciple believes that if the news had leaked, then Seed Demon Path Cultivators would not have appeared nearby."

"I’m afraid the Yellow Springs Path Demonic Cultivators had some inkling, but for some reason, they didn’t inform the Seed Demon Path."

The Elders nodded: "That’s a possibility."

Shen Yu sat upright in a position near the center, silent.

He had arrived in Changping about half a month ago.

Having just made a Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm Late Stage, and after a brief period of stabilizing his Realm, he volunteered to come here.

Naturally, it wasn’t just for the so-called Sect spirit of dedication, but for other reasons.

"Besides that..."

Cong Yuzhen continued: "This Disciple also found a Jade Slip related to the Asura Path in Lyu Qin’s qiankun bag."

"It mentioned a person’s name."

"This person is named Jin Tianya..."

This was the first time most of the people present had heard this name in Changping.

Shen Yu, however, suddenly raised his eyes slightly, his gaze sharpening.

"According to the content of the Jade Slip, this person is likely the root cause of all the Demonic Cultivators coming here and making such a big move."

"This Disciple deduces that the Yellow Springs Path already knew of the Asura Path’s intention to secretly seize Jin Tianya... or some treasure he carried."

"So they took this person away in advance..."

"It’s just unknown why Lyu Qin of the Seed Demon Path still kept the appointment..."

A white-bearded Elder waved his hand: "No need to worry. The several Demonic Path Dao lineages were never truly united."

"Some internal strife and disputes are quite common."

"Yes."

The Elder continued to ask: "Is there any other information about this person named Jin Tianya?"

"The Jade Slip did not mention anything further."

"Hmm."

The white-bearded Elder pondered for a moment, then looked at Shen Yu beside him.

"I wonder what Elder Shen’s opinion is?"

As an External Affairs Elder of Profound Origin Sect, and having just made a Breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment Realm Late Stage.

Shen Yu’s say among the Six Sects’ Elders currently stationed in Changping could be said to be extremely high.

Cave Abyss Sect Peak Master Elder Yu Tian had returned to the Sect a few days ago.

Now, the leaders of the Six Sects here were the white-bearded Elder, who was Elder Chen of Sheyang Sect, Great Master San Jue of Huadu Temple, and Elder Shen Yu of Profound Origin Sect.

Shen Yu merely shook his head slightly.

"This old man is new here and doesn’t quite understand the situation in Changping yet. Elder Chen can preside over the overall situation."

To everyone’s surprise, Shen Yu was extremely low-key this time.

"Good."

Elder Chen nodded and generally laid out the arrangements for the subsequent matters.

He specifically reminded Cong Yuzhen, Xu Ziqing, and other new generation Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators to pay close attention to any clues regarding "Jin Tianya."

"Elder, what about Cheng Yu’s matter..."

Elder Chen sighed softly: "Has the identity of that fleeing Demonic Cultivator been found out?"

"Not yet. This person’s escape technique is extremely strange. The Disciples patrolling with Cheng Yu were completely unaware and unprepared. Cheng Yu was almost killed by a single strike from the opponent."

Elder Chen frowned: "There were many Disciples patrolling in Caoyuan Township. Why did the opponent only target Cheng Yu?"

"It’s almost like seeking revenge."

Seeing Cong Yuzhen not speak, he continued: "I will go and comfort Elder Cheng."

"This matter, I will fully entrust to you to investigate."

Ultimately, Cheng Yu was only a Qi Refining Late Stage Disciple.

His sudden death was regrettable, but at this critical juncture, Elder Chen didn’t want to waste any time on this issue.

He simply handed it over to his own Foundation Establishment Realm Disciple to handle.

From a good perspective, from now on, no Disciple should think that patrolling is just a formality.

The meeting quickly dispersed.

Although no other Cultivators from the Yellow Springs Path and Seed Demon Path were ultimately intercepted, Song Yan did make some intelligence contributions.

Thus, at the Merits and Secrets department, he could claim another thirty merit points.

Song Yan now had an additional one hundred twenty-five merit points.

And with Cheng Yu dead, he could imagine that his remaining days in Changping would be much smoother.

He didn’t need to worry too much about Shen Yu of Profound Origin Sect.

From the perspective of operational lines, Cave Abyss Sect and Sheyang Sect had closer ties, and Profound Origin Sect had no strong reason to interfere with matters here.

He only needed to be wary of the female Cultivator named Shen Huai.

Thanks to his current accumulation of merit points, as long as he passed the next four months smoothly, he would be able to return to the Sect early.

Everything was looking good... Meanwhile.

Shen Yu and Shen Huai walked out of Lianheng Tower together.

"You mean..."

Shen Yu transmitted his voice.

"Cheng Yu and Song Yan had a grudge?"

Shen Huai pondered for a moment: "Cheng Yu actually offended quite a few people, but most of them were Outer Sect Disciples of Cave Abyss Sect and Spirit Talisman Sect."

"Only Song Yan had a direct conflict with him."

"Hmm..."

"I heard that the intelligence about the Seed Demon Path was provided by Song Yan?"

"Indeed."

Shen Yu was deep in thought.

Shen Huai spoke first: "Elder, do you think he might..."

"..."

"Without absolute evidence, one cannot make wild guesses about such matters."

Shen Yu pondered for a while, then said: "You are in the same patrol team as that Song Yan; you can keep a close eye on him."

To Shen Huai’s surprise, Shen Yu did not immediately make a guilty presumption about Song Yan.

"Also..."

"If you find any clues about this person Jin Tianya..."

"Do not report it, notify me first."

"Understood?"

Shen Yu was quite satisfied with Shen Huai, this junior from his clan.

Not only was her talent acceptable, but she was also very sensible.

Furthermore, she Cultivated a secret art of spirit-gazing for investigation.

She was a very promising talent worth nurturing.

"...Yes."

Shen Huai nodded and left alone.