Chapter 51: Night of Carnage

The elder put away the communication stone and had just lifted himself into the air when a sudden sense of alarm surged in his heart. Before he could react, Qin Yue appeared out of nowhere, delivering a fierce punch to his lower abdomen. The terrifying force shattered the nascent inner core forming in his dantian. Blood spurted from his mouth as he plummeted from midair. Yet he did not hit the ground; Qin Yue caught him effortlessly, darted into the inner chamber, and threw him onto the floor.

The agony forced a groan from the elder, leaving him in a bewildered daze, utterly unaware of what had transpired. Not until Qin Yue snatched a rag from the tea table and stuffed it into his mouth, then proceeded to break all four of his limbs. The elder screamed and howled, his body convulsing violently, but with his limbs shattered, he could not move. His eyes nearly burst from their sockets as he finally saw his assailant clearly—a figure clad in a hooded cloak, wearing a black mask.

Elder Liu?!

He could hardly believe it, consumed by pain yet fixated on the clear, pristine eyes behind the mask. This wasn’t Elder Liu! Although his encounters with Liu Tong, the former outer sect elder of the sect, had been few, he knew him. The person before him was clearly a young man!

“Mmm… mmm…” He struggled desperately, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes, wanting to question, but unable to utter a single word.

He had been careless; they said spiritual communication was secure, and indeed it was—so secure one couldn’t even know if the other party was human or ghost. Ultimately, it was his own fault; out of reverence, he had neglected to confirm the code beforehand!

The elder’s heart burned with grief and regret, wishing he could undo his choices. Qin Yue swiftly searched him, retrieving a storage ring and picking up the communication stone.

Seeing this, the elder went mad, wailing, his tears pouring out even more furiously.

It was over… everything was lost!

His storage ring contained quite a trove, far richer than the Liu elder Qin Yue had previously dispatched. Not only were there thousands of spirit stones, but also heaps of gold, silver, jewels, precious jade, and even numerous antiques and calligraphy—clearly all plundered from the common folk. As for how they were obtained, the hundred-plus innocent lives of Sanhe Town would surely have something to say.

There were more than a hundred spiritual herbs at the Kuixu and Dongwei levels, all looking fresh—these likely came from other channels, not the common people.

Yet those were trivial compared to the communication stone; Qin Yue highly suspected this old man was a “contact,” and the stone likely contained information about the previous rumor-mongers!

Judging by his reaction, it seemed almost certain.

Qin Yue ignored the old man’s ceaseless crying and mentally deciphered the message just received—

“Understood. We’ll coordinate and be more cautious. This time, Tianluo Sect will have no way to clear their name!”

Just as expected, the old fool was convinced they could score big, coordinating with the Jin Kingdom branch responsible for the matter, intending to launch a coordinated campaign of public opinion.

Right in front of the elder, Qin Yue pulled a chair over, sent a message through the communication stone to Hu Jiuyan: “There’s another fish that escaped the net here, already subdued. Strike at the right moment—don’t let any escape. I’ll handle this one first.”

The elder lying on the floor was gravely injured, his anger and despair overwhelming him, and his gaze grew glassy. Qin Yue immediately produced a Kuixu-level spiritual herb, used the Steal Heaven and Swap Sun technique to transfer some essence to him—not too much, as such herbs were expensive.

The elder gradually recovered, his eyes filled with utter despair.

At this point, what was left unclear? Elder Liu was surely dead, and the one impersonating him must be a young master from the Bureau of Thieves—no, a young powerhouse!

He himself was a master at the Dongwei realm! Though he had just stepped into this level by practicing demonic arts, he was still a true expert. His combat experience and instincts, honed over five or six decades, were not inferior to those of seasoned warriors.

Ordinarily, someone at Kuixu level couldn’t succeed in a sneak attack, not even with surprise.

When did the Jin Kingdom’s Bureau of Thieves produce such a prodigy?

Qin Yue leaned down, pulled the fragrant rag from the elder’s mouth, and tossed it aside.

“Give me something useful, and I’ll make it quick for you.”

The elder groaned weakly, slowly closing his eyes, clearly refusing to respond to such a despicable, underhanded attacker.

“So you won’t talk? I’ll cut off your manhood first—let you die incomplete, reincarnate as a eunuch in your next life!”

“Are you even human?” The elder’s eyes snapped open, staring in disbelief at Qin Yue. Judging by his voice, he was quite young; how could his heart be so depraved?

Was this even something a human would say?

Qin Yue picked up a tea knife from the table, demonstrating it in front of the elder with a calm expression: “This is a bit dull—it might hurt more. Bear with it.”

“No… no, don’t… I’ll talk, I’ll say everything!” The elder panicked. Even with broken limbs, he didn’t want his fifth limb cut off while alive. His gaze toward Qin Yue shifted from fear to horror, as though staring at a madman.

His composure utterly shattered, he began to sob uncontrollably. Who was the real demonic cultivator here?

Within less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the elder spilled everything he knew like beans from a bamboo tube.

Qin Yue even sensed a strong vengeful streak in him. Not only did he reveal information about the Zhao Yang Sect’s Jin Kingdom branch and their contacts, but he also disclosed jaw-dropping details, naming several high-ranking sect members who had turned to evil cultivation.

As a contact, he was privy to all these secrets!

He divulged so much, both out of spite—if he died, others shouldn’t have it easy—and a hidden wish that Qin Yue would meet a bad end.

—If you have the guts, go arrest the evil cultivators at Zhao Yang Sect!

In the end, he cried again, claiming he was just a useless old man from humble origins, who had joined Zhao Yang Sect by luck, never intending to walk the evil path—all was at the command of those above, and he had no way to resist.

At one point he lamented the cruel methods of evil cultivators, their heinous deeds, admitting he was reaping what he sowed, but also subtly tempting Qin Yue: through such practices, cultivation progressed rapidly.

“You know, I spent my whole life in the outer sect. Before practicing these arts, I was barely at the peak of Qi absorption. In just half a year, I vaulted from Kuixu to Dongwei… this method is truly remarkable.”

Qin Yue had no patience for his rambling. With a blank expression, he stabbed the tea knife straight into the elder’s heart.

He hoisted the corpse, vanishing swiftly into the night.

At the inn, the Bureau of Thieves would send people to clean up later; outside the city, his junior uncle, senior brother, and a host of elite Bureau agents were present. He had no need to join them.

Leaving the city, he first found a secluded spot and burned the elder’s corpse to ash.

Business concluded, he brushed off his sleeves and hurried toward Northern Frontier City!

The Zhao Yang Sect’s “water army,” those responsible for spreading rumors and slander, had hidden all along in this prosperous metropolis.

It was time to root them out.

…

On the mountain outside Qingyun County, the other eight believed their “boss,” Elder Liu, was leading them to a big score, their hearts racing with excitement as they covered the dozen miles in a flash.

But to their utter shock, upon reaching the summit, they were trapped by a suddenly activated formation.

There was no warning; the slaughter was instantaneous!

A soundproof barrier had even been thoughtfully set up, so none of their frantic shouts and angry cries leaked out.

The whistling of heavy crossbows filled the air, and in an instant, three or four were shot down, howling in misery.

“We’ve been tricked!”

“Why did Elder Liu betray us?”

“Mental communication… has loopholes! Maybe… it wasn’t Elder Liu at all!”

“I hate this!”

“Maybe it wasn’t Elder Liu—could it be that old fox Li Ping set us up? Why else didn’t he show?”

Their cultivation ranged from Kuixu to Dongwei, but they were no match for the well-equipped, prepared Bureau of Thieves agents.

There was no need for Junior Uncle Chi Mingxu or Chen Qianzhang to step in; soon, all were dead in the ambush.

One Bureau agent beamed with excitement; though unclear about the identities of these demonic cultivators, it was certainly a great achievement!

He turned to Hu Jiuyan: “Inspector, your insight is extraordinary. This is a huge haul!”

Hu Jiuyan clasped hands to the group: “Brothers, you’ve all worked hard. I’ll take twenty percent of the spoils—the rest is yours.”

“That won’t do. We mustn’t break protocol. Inspector led us to a great victory—how can you only take twenty percent?” The agent looked at the others. “Inspector takes fifty percent; we divide the rest. Any objections?”

Everyone laughed: “Of course not!”

“The inspector led us to success and is so generous—if you only took twenty percent, how could we hold our heads up in the future?”

“Fifty percent—must be fifty!”

Hu Jiuyan did not refuse again; this was an unspoken rule in the Bureau of Thieves. Their targets were always vicious bandits, and dividing their ill-gotten gains caused no guilt.

In the past, she rarely took much, but now, thinking of Qin Yue’s terrifying cultivation talent, anxiety rose in her heart.

If she didn’t advance quickly, the gap between them would only widen.

She had to work harder!

…

Northern Frontier City.

In the mixed, chaotic slums of the north.

From a row of low, shabby houses came waves of lewd, lustful noises, spreading wantonly through the quiet night.

No one dared approach lightly, for this was the infamous headquarters of the Celestial Way Gang in Northern Frontier City.

Their name sounded noble—Walking Heaven’s Path—but their crimes were countless, and the ordinary people who lived here could only suffer in silence.

If anyone married a pretty wife or had a beautiful daughter, and the Celestial Way Gang caught wind, there was no escape.

Every successive city magistrate had tried to purge this evil, each hoping to leave office with the People’s Umbrella, not the people’s scorn.

But such gangs, clustered together, were cesspits; scattered, they were piles of stinking dog feces, tenacious and impossible to eradicate.

Not only were the core members highly skilled and vigilant, but before every operation, they always got wind of it in advance.

Even rooting out a few traitors had no effect.

Despite this, before tonight, few would have believed such a cancerous, criminal force could be secretly supported by Zhao Yang Sect.

Many of the Celestial Way Gang’s core members were actually outer sect disciples of Zhao Yang Sect!

If not for the elder’s vengeful confession before death, even Qin Yue would have doubted that Zhao Yang Sect had rotted to such an extent.

Raising evil cultivators to slaughter civilians was already horrifying enough; secretly nurturing criminal gangs as well—there was no bottom to their depravity.

More shocking still, beneath the low houses of this slum lay a vast underground complex!

Divided into three layers, its entrance was extremely well-hidden, shrouded by formations—ordinary constables would never find it, and even cultivators would be hard-pressed to discover its existence without prior knowledge.

Even if they found the first layer, the others would remain elusive.

The complexity rivaled a labyrinth!

The first layer served as the refuge for gang members whenever the Celestial Way Gang was besieged.

The second layer was where many Zhao Yang Sect disciples lodged when they visited.

The third layer—truly chilling to contemplate.

—Its space could conceal thousands of troops!

As the “sect power” behind Xia Kingdom, to construct such a place in the north of Jin Kingdom’s great city made their intentions crystal clear.

In this world of cultivation, the ties between the secular and the sects were ever intricate.

That old man was probably a bachelor and dared to say anything.

If not for this incident, someday, out of the blue, they might raise an army and seize the city…

If so, perhaps even the Jin Kingdom’s royal capital had such a hidden nest!

Qin Yue pondered.

By now, some noises in the low houses had ceased, others lingered, mingled with sobs.

Behind Qin Yue’s black mask, his eyes blazed with murderous intent.

Sword in hand, he casually pushed open a door.

A sharp, angry shout erupted, but was instantly silenced.

Soon after, some women fled in panic, but their clothes were intact, and they escaped into the night.

Qin Yue, like a reaper, interrogated and killed.

Cross-referencing the contact’s testimony, he soon found the entrance to the underground complex and slipped inside without a sound.