Chapter 129: Chapter 127: Xiao Chan Pays a Visit

Murder by an Evil Cultivator!

The downpour was relentless. Chen Che, holding his Celestial Secret Umbrella, trudged through the mud with Hu Yao after receiving the news. When they arrived, six or seven disciples were already at the scene. Farther off, he could spot Lu Yi’s figure surveying the area.

It made sense.

Jinyun Valley was stationed here, so it was their natural responsibility to maintain peace in the area—a duty they could not shirk.

"Tributor Chen!"

The disciple standing guard saw Chen Che and immediately let him through.

Chen Che strode to the front of the dilapidated temple.

He looked up and saw more than a dozen corpses lying in the mud. It was impossible to know how they had died.

But now, their condition was horrifying. Their faces were frozen in terror, their limbs were twisted, and all of them had been reduced to desiccated husks.

Furthermore, the heavy rain had punched countless holes into their ravaged bodies, making them look like hollowed-out anthills. The longswords still clutched in their hands resembled long-unearthed relics, completely covered in rust.

Seeing this sight, even Chen Che, who was no stranger to killing, felt the corner of his eye twitch.

"It’s as if they were burned into mummies... completely charred through."

Hu Yao’s face was a picture of shock and disbelief.

He glanced around before hurrying off to find Lu Yi.

Chen Che remained silent. He picked up a tree branch and jabbed it forcefully into one of the desiccated bodies, which immediately pierced a hole through it.

Then,

With a CRACK, it crumbled into dust.

Even the Weapon shattered like porcelain, crumbling into a pile with a CLATTER.

"All these people... their Qi and Blood has been completely drained! Even their Weapons have been stripped of their spiritual essence. That’s why they look like this..."

Lu Yi approached with his hands clasped behind his back. He saw Chen Che examining the bodies and gave a slight nod in greeting before explaining:

"Seventeen people died here in total. All of them were Late-stage Qi Refining Cultivators."

A chorus of sharp gasps rippled through the onlookers.

"Don’t tell me the attacker was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator?"

Chen Che’s eyelids twitched uncontrollably. For some reason, the first person who came to mind was Ye Jingzhou.

"It wasn’t a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. I’ve just surveyed the area. The Evil Cultivator should only be at the Qi Refining Realm."

With his hands still behind his back, Lu Yi led Chen Che in a circle around the dilapidated temple. Although several days of heavy rain had washed away most of the evidence, some traces of the battle remained.

"A few days ago, the Evil Cultivator was resting here and was likely discovered. A fight broke out, and the Evil Cultivator used some sort of technique to slaughter these Cultivators on the spot. In the end, however, two managed to escape, and the Evil Cultivator pursued them..."

Lu Yi analyzed the traces one by one as they followed them.

Sure enough,

Chen Che could see the tracks of three people on the ground.

Finally, the two arrived at a clearing nearly three miles from the battle site. Another corpse lay there.

This one, however, had not been drained of his Qi and Blood. He was clearly identifiable: a young man in his twenties, dressed in black, killed by a single sword strike to the throat.

"Here, the Evil Cultivator caught up with one of them and killed him. There are two sets of footprints, one trailing the other. Judging from these tracks, both the person being chased and the Evil Cultivator must be at the Qi Refining Realm. He was chasing them down to silence them!"

Lu Yi pointed at the corpse and stated confidently,

"As for how he accomplished this, in my view, he likely used some kind of Evil Artifact!"

’An Evil Artifact?’

Chen Che was lost in thought.

"Master, how should we deal with these bodies?"

Just then, Hu Yao hurried forward to ask, "These are disciples of the Primordial Sect. Do we need to send word to them...?"

"Leave!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yi’s brow furrowed. He stared at the black-robed Cultivator’s clothing for a moment before snapping,

"And another thing—not a word of today’s events is to be spread. If I find out anyone else knows, I will show no mercy!"

!?"

Hu Yao and the other disciples were all stunned.

But since Lu Yi had given the order, they had no choice but to comply and quickly depart.

In the blink of an eye,

everyone had cleared out completely, as if they had never witnessed the horrific scene.

As Chen Che left, he glanced at the waist token on the black-robed Cultivator. The word ’Primordial’ was inscribed upon it.

...

...

’A major power, founded six hundred years ago...’

Back in the Marketplace Pill Shop, Chen Che multitasked. He guided Zhao Deyou in Alchemy while flipping through a few books of strange lore he had tracked down.

If...

If Jinyun Valley was just a makeshift organization Ye Jingzhou had thrown together for the convenience of his own Cultivation,

then the Primordial Sect was a true Sect in every sense of the word.

As for its power...

One look at the lineup they had sent to hunt an Evil Cultivator was enough to reveal a power gap so vast there was no comparison. The book of lore circulating among Cultivators that he now held also offered a clue or two:

It was a Sect presided over by a Golden Core Ancestor.

"Did you hear? A Demon Beast has appeared outside the mountains. Several Loose Cultivators have already been killed—not even their bones were left behind! Jinyun Valley has issued an order forbidding anyone from entering the mountains."

"Could it be that pill-stealing Demon Beast from a while back? Good heavens! How long has it been? It’s already capable of wreaking such havoc? Don’t tell me our Jinyun Valley is about to relive the Chi State Demon Beast disaster..."

"Valley Master Ye is a Foundation Establishment Ancestor. If he were to return, capturing this beast would be a simple matter, would it not?"

Outside in the Market, people bustled to and fro. Pedestrians and merchants alike were all buzzing with discussion.

Although...

Although transmitting news between distant places was extremely difficult, anything concerning Jinyun Valley was bound to spread like wildfire.

’They’re covering up the truth.’

Chen Che grasped the key point.

Clearly, the only person who could issue such an order right now was Lu Yi.

’Lu Yi doesn’t want to offend that Evil Cultivator?’

Chen Che closed the book, speculating internally.

’It made sense.’

Although the Primordial Sect was powerful, it was Sixteen States away—a classic case of "the mountains are high, and the emperor is far away." Sending a message and getting a reply would take several months at the very least.

But the Evil Cultivator was right here on their doorstep. After witnessing his methods, Lu Yi would certainly be unwilling to provoke him.

TAP! TAP!

In the Market, Hu Yao led a few disciples on patrol, pacing back and forth.

As he passed the Pill Shop, he and Chen Che exchanged a glance. Hu Yao narrowed his eyes and gave a slight shake of his head. Chen Che understood at once. It meant they still hadn’t identified the Evil Cultivator’s origins; they didn’t even know who he was.