Shen Changchuan remained hidden in the dense forest, observing carefully.

To better conceal himself, he even learned the Breath Concealment Technique from the magic manual left behind by the He Mountain Four Fierce.

He carefully observed the Gale Falcon’s every move,

including its injuries,

the time it left its nest to hunt, its hunting methods, the intervals between its departures, and so on,

all in search of a way to deal with the creature.

And through this relentless observation,

Shen Changchuan eventually gathered most of the information on the Gale Falcon.

Using this data as a basis,

he mentally simulated various tactics and considered ways to deal with the Gale Falcon,

wanting to eliminate this threat completely.

Finally,

after another two days of deep thought,

having simulated over a dozen plans in his mind,

Shen Changchuan’s final decision was to retreat.

’The success rate is too low.’

’That creature is too fast. With all my current abilities, only the Soul-Attracting Bell can hit it and pose some threat.’

’But after what happened last time, a surprise attack probably won’t be as effective. Besides, even if a surprise attack succeeded, the stun from the Soul-Attracting Bell wouldn’t last long enough for me to heavily wound or kill it while it’s incapacitated.’

’Once it takes to the sky, I’ll be completely helpless.’

Based on the results of his careful observations over the past several days,

Shen Changchuan decisively scrapped all his plans.

According to all logical projections, using only his current abilities, Shen Changchuan’s chance of failure against the creature was over seventy to eighty percent.

And if it were to take to the sky,

then there would be no chance at all.

And so,

Shen Changchuan decided not to waste any more time.

Without making the slightest sound,

he quietly departed.

’If I attack rashly and fail again, it will have learned its lesson twice. The next time I face it, the difficulty will likely increase severalfold!’

’So, to deal with that creature, it has to be a one-hit kill! I can’t give it another chance to escape.’

’I need to prepare properly.’

On the way back,

Shen Changchuan cautiously retraced his steps.

All the while, he contemplated a plan to deal with the Gale Falcon.

With his current abilities,

it would be very difficult to eliminate it completely.

Shen Changchuan didn’t want to gamble on a twenty or thirty percent chance of success.

Then the only way,

was to strengthen himself.

’If only I had a suitable Magical Artifact, Magic, or even an Array.’

’I should first go check the merchant caravans gathering at the Wu Family Collection and see if I can find a suitable solution there.’

’If I still can’t find a good solution, perhaps I can just lay low for a while and raise my Cultivation Realm. In any case, there’s still half a year until the spring planting and summer harvest. By then, I’m bound to have a way to deal with it.’

As he pondered,

Shen Changchuan’s gaze fell on his progress bar panel, on the Cyan Wood Sword Light that was still stuck at 1% and had yet to improve.

Shen Changchuan could sense that this particular Magic was very powerful.

If he could cultivate it to Perfection,

he was eighty to ninety percent confident that he could use it to kill the Gale Falcon!

Besides,

it wasn’t as if he were completely without a backup plan.

What’s more,

’As a last resort, I can always call for backup. I could ask the Cultivators from the six villages to help me deal with it together...’

’There’s always a way.’

At this thought,

Shen Changchuan finally felt a bit more at ease.

After several days,

he returned to Dawan Village along the same path.

...

In a certain remote village,

the entire village was eerily empty, without a single person in sight.

Not even a dog was left,

and a deathly silence filled the air.

At this moment,

in the square at the center of the village,

a small mountain of corpses—men, women, and children alike—was piled high.

The faces of the dead were all twisted in agony, as if they had witnessed some unspeakable terror right before their deaths.

At the same time,

a black-robed figure wearing a bronze mask stretched out a hand toward the mountain of corpses.

A crimson light, viscous as blood and glowing scarlet, rose from the mountain of corpses.

In an instant, all the Qi and Blood and Vitality seemed to be drained from the piled bodies. They shriveled rapidly, turning into what looked like ancient mummies.

Immediately after,

the red light flickered.

A White Bone Longsword, emanating endless resentment and a sinister aura, rose from the mountain of corpses.

The Bronze-Masked Shadow snatched it from the air.

"Congratulations, My Lord! Your Artifact Refining was a success, and your power has increased immensely!"

Just then,

a wizened voice called out from behind him.

But although the voice was congratulatory,

a careful listener could tell it held not a shred of sincerity.

It sounded like mere lip service.

The Bronze-Masked Shadow turned his head.

The once-empty village was now filled with twenty or thirty disparate figures, who had gathered at some unknown time.

There was a stooped, gaunt old man who resembled a dried corpse.

There were brothers with longswords on their backs and arrogant, unruly expressions.

There was also a burly butcher, his face wrapped in black cloth strips, holding a blood-stained cleaver.

These people had gathered together for some reason,

but they all kept some distance from one another, and a vague sense of wariness, alienation, and distrust could be felt among them.

The Bronze-Masked Shadow paid them no mind as the White Bone Longsword liquefied and melted into his arm.

Then,

he turned around, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

"Where are the He Mountain Four Fierce? Why don’t I see them?"

The Bronze-Masked Shadow’s gaze swept over the surroundings. Noticing that a few figures were missing, he spoke, his voice as cold as grinding machinery.

"Does anyone present know the four brothers? My bottle of Qi Introduction Pills is not so easily taken."

Although his voice remained utterly devoid of inflection,

everyone present felt a chill run down their spines.

One thing was certain:

if the He Mountain Four Fierce really had taken his things and fled, their fate would be anything but pleasant.

"Ahem."

At that moment, the cough drew everyone’s attention.

It was a white-haired old man leaning on a cane, his hand as withered as a claw.

He nodded at the crowd with a faint smile and began to speak:

"I have heard something about this. Rumor has it the He Mountain Four Fierce fell in a place called Dawan Village. Their heads were hung up for display. They won’t be coming."

"Oh? Is that so? The He Mountain Four Fierce wielded a vicious weapon known as the Soul-Attracting Bell. When the four of them joined forces, even a Qi Introduction Seventh Layer Cultivator wouldn’t necessarily be able to take them down. Who is this powerful expert who suddenly appeared?"

"Tch, what powerful expert? It was some disciple from the Shen Family. His Cultivation is said to be only at the Qi Introduction Third or Fourth Layer, and his techniques are nothing special."

"Old Ghost Song, are you joking? A piddling Qi Introduction Third or Fourth Layer took out the He Mountain Four Fierce?! Their leader’s Cultivation Realm was at the Sixth Layer Peak, not to mention they had a vicious weapon like the Soul-Attracting Bell! I heard the Wu Family once sent a Qi Introduction Seventh Layer Cultivator to hunt them, and even he failed to take them down!"

Someone immediately questioned him, voicing their rebuttal.

They didn’t believe a word of it.

"Heh heh heh, who knows? Those four brothers always loved to act innocent to lure in and deceive naive fledglings. Maybe this time they pretended to be the pig to eat the tiger, but ended up becoming the pig themselves and getting tricked by someone’s scheme?"

Old Ghost Song cackled sinisterly.

Then he continued, his old, hoarse voice now laced with a tempting quality:

"The He Mountain Four Fierce are dead, so all of their possessions have likely fallen into that kid’s hands. Why don’t you all go and test him out for yourselves?"

"If you don’t trust this old man, you are free to investigate on your own."

"I imagine that a mere brat at the Qi Introduction Third or Fourth Layer, even if he does have a few tricks up his sleeve, would be an easy catch for any of you."

At these words,

the eyes of many in the crowd glinted, and it was clear that they were already getting ideas.

However, some shot Old Ghost Song a deep, meaningful look.

’This old ghost is kind enough to hand them such a great opportunity for free?’

’What a joke!’

’Anyone who’s survived in this line of work for so long couldn’t possibly be a kind soul.’

’This old ghost must be unsure of the target’s true strength himself, and just wants to trick some cannon fodder into testing the waters for him.’

’Still, this might be an opportunity...’

For a moment,

everyone in the crowd harbored their own hidden agendas.

"Enough!"

Just then,

the Bronze-Masked Shadow in front spoke coldly, his icy voice interrupting everyone’s thoughts.

"If they’re dead, then so be it."

"But let me be clear. I have paid a great price to gather you all here. The purpose is to breach the Wu Family Collection."

"After the Wu Family Collection is breached, you can do as you please. But if anyone dares to act on their own before then and causes this operation to fail, I will hunt them to the ends of the earth, rip out their soul, and ensure they can never be reborn for all eternity!"

The Bronze-Masked Shadow’s voice was frigid.

The White Bone Longsword, glowing with a bloody light, slashed down and carved a deep trench more than a hundred feet long into the ground!

A monstrous wave of Blood Evil Qi swept out in all directions.

No one in the crowd dared to utter a word.