Hearing this, Luo Yin’s chopsticks froze in mid-air just as he was about to pick up a piece of meat. He looked at Liu Qingchan with a half-smile and asked, “Why are you asking that? Do you think your Senior Brother here has the ability to wipe out an entire sect?”
“Ummm~~”
Liu Qingchan pondered for a moment before replying, “Although I haven’t seen your true strength, Senior Brother, the methods you displayed over the past few days make it clear you have more aces up your sleeve. And the situation in the Heavenly Fiend Sect was so similar to your techniques, so Qingchan guesses it was you.”
“Some things don’t need an absolute answer. What you believe is what matters.”
Luo Yin smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying it.
“Hmph! Always so mysterious! Just admit it was you!”
Ling Qingxue couldn’t stand it any longer. She rolled her eyes at him and huffed.
Luo Yin chuckled. “If you say so~”
The speaker had no particular intent, but the listener took it to heart.
Upon hearing that the Heavenly Fiend Sect had indeed been destroyed by Luo Yin, stars sparkled in Liu Qingchan’s eyes as she gazed at him.
Senior Brother is so amazing?!
Luo Yin paid it no mind, however. He picked up a piece of meat—unclear whether from some animal or spirit beast—and popped it into his mouth.
A trace of tension flickered across Ling Qingxue’s lovely face, as though she were filled with anticipation.
When Luo Yin’s expression remained unchanged after tasting the meat, she let out a quiet sigh of relief.
But the very next moment—
Pfft!
He spat the piece of meat right onto the table.
“Help!”
Luo Yin let out a strange yelp, clutching his throat.
“Senior Brother! What’s wrong?!”
Startled, Liu Qingchan rushed forward to check on him.
Luo Yin’s eyes bulged as he stared at her. “Water~~ Water!!”
Moments later, after gulping down two full cups of water, Luo Yin fixed Ling Qingxue with a sullen glare. “This is your cooking?! So much salt! And all these bizarre seasonings—you’re trying to poison me?!”
Though Luo Yin had reached the Divine Palace Realm, he hadn’t yet opened his palace.
What a joke!
The ingredients here were abundant and diverse, the seasonings strange and plentiful. Why bother opening a palace when he could enjoy fine food?
To save a little time for cultivation?
Did he lack that much time?
Ling Qingxue felt a twinge of displeasure at Luo Yin’s scolding.
If Liu Qingchan weren’t there, she would have pulled rank as his Shizun to argue back.
But she couldn’t now, so she muttered under her breath, “I’ve never cooked before. You insisted I do it.”
Still, the smug glint in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Without strength on her side, this was her only way to get even.
“Alright, alright, Senior Brother. In that case, let Qingchan show off her culinary skills.”
Liu Qingchan was kind-hearted and couldn’t bear to see Ling Qingxue looking so wronged. She couldn’t help but speak up.
Luo Yin seized the chance to let it drop, waving a hand dismissively.
After all, he had only been venting; he had no intention of truly berating Ling Qingxue.
In stark contrast to the trio’s relaxed and leisurely mood, the grand hall of the Heavenly Demon Sect hung heavy with a deathly silence.
“An entire spirit vein mine vanishes into thin air, and none of you even know who’s behind it? Are you all useless?!!!”
At the head of the hall sat a man clad in a black robe, demonic energy swirling around him. His eyes bulged with fury as he glared down at the assembly.
This was none other than the Sect Master of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
He had been thrilled to discover a spirit vein mine—one that had even produced a spirit vein essence soul, no less.
But no sooner had the good news arrived than word came that the mine was gone!
A spirit vein mine of that size would have taken dozens of Spirit Sea Realm cultivators ten days or even half a month to fully excavate.
To remove it in such a short time required at least a Saint Energy Realm powerhouse.
“Sect Master, this incident is most peculiar,” one elder of the Heavenly Demon Sect stepped forward to say. “Given our sect’s prestige in the Northern Spirit Realm, no ordinary person would dare touch our third spirit vein mine if they knew it belonged to us. Yet that thief slaughtered our disciples and stripped the mine bare. They must either fear nothing—not even death—or possess backing of unimaginable power.”
The Heavenly Demon Sect Master’s brow furrowed. In a deep voice, he demanded, “Unimaginable power?! In the whole Northern Spirit Realm, who besides our Heavenly Demon Sect, Fuyao Holy Land, and the Dayan Dynasty could claim such might!? And the Dayan Dynasty owes its strength to the Heavenly Dao Academy in the Central Province Realm! Without that, it’s nothing more than a mortal empire!”
“Perhaps the thief isn’t from the Northern Spirit Realm?” someone ventured.
“Not from the Northern Spirit Realm?”
The Sect Master frowned again.
Then he declared, “I don’t care where they’re from! Anyone who dares provoke the Heavenly Demon Sect on my turf will answer for it! Wasn’t the Heavenly Fiend Sect wiped out? That Xu Biao’s report suggests it was the same culprit! The peach flower branch and peach blossoms are our leads.”
“Oh, right—Peach Blossom Village. I hear those ants fled from the Heavenly Fiend Sect. Send men to interrogate them. If they don’t talk, kill them all!”
The crowd immediately dispatched subordinates at his command, and the Sect Master’s expression eased somewhat.
That spirit vein essence soul would be immensely useful to him. Spirit vein mines were rare enough, and even rarer were those that condensed such a soul.
To have one snatched away after finally finding it naturally enraged him.
“Very well, that’s enough on this. What of Taiyi Holy Land? Has Gu Jinghong agreed to our terms?”
With that, he turned to the elder at the forefront.
The elder replied at once, “They have, Sect Master. Word arrived just today. Gu Jinghong permits us to send participants to their Grand Competition, but no fatalities.”
The Heavenly Demon Sect Master snorted coldly. “Hmph! This Venerable has no interest in the lives of Taiyi Holy Land rabble. Since they’ve agreed, it simplifies matters!”
……..
Several days passed in the blink of an eye.
The Heavenly Demon Sect gleaned nothing useful from Peach Blossom Village, and its inhabitants were slaughtered to the last.
When the news reached Luo Yin, it stirred no ripples in his heart.
In this world, mortal lives were worth no more than ants.
He had saved them on a whim back then, but their loose tongues had sealed their fate. That was on them.
Over these past few days, Luo Yin hadn’t ventured out in search of fortunes. Aside from cultivating the Daoyan Demonic Canon, he spent his time discussing Sword Dao with Liu Qingchan and teasing Ling Qingxue.
Curiously, Ling Qingxue’s favorability had ticked up by one.
Not a huge gain, but progress nonetheless.
The Kunpeng Egg from the system space had been placed in his spirit sea to nurture and hatch.
Per the System, successful hatching would yield a pure-blooded Kunpeng as his divine pet, along with some special rewards.
Just what made them special, Luo Yin didn’t know.
Could it come with a wife, perhaps?
A mother Kunpeng?
In any case, Luo Yin had already decided: if it could take human form, he’d dress it in a pair of overalls for some fun.
At that moment, back in his room, Luo Yin pulled out the storage ring he’d taken from Su Chen.
Today marked Venerable Tianhong’s awakening. There were questions that needed answers.
Luo Yin gazed at the ring, circulated the Daoyan Demonic Canon, and channeled a surge of potent spiritual power into it.
Buzz~~~
The ring hummed and trembled before an ethereal spirit body drifted out.
Gradually, it coalesced into the visage of an elderly man.
Yet the look on his face carried a hint of displeasure.
“Who dares disturb this venerable one’s sweet dreams?!”
