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In the mountain gully several hundred li away from Feiyue Lake.
A black-robed man with long hair landed beside the stream. A series of bone-cracking sounds echoed as his appearance and physique transformed into a gentle and handsome young man. He took off the long black wig on his head, ready to discard it, but then reconsidered and stored it in his storage pouch instead.
Lan Chang'an threw the black robe stained with demonic energy into the stream and ignited it with a flame.
"A second-rank Demonic Aura Talisman, I suppose not many righteous talisman masters in the Liang Kingdom know how to do this, right? With the control of late Foundation Establishment spiritual sense, it’s no problem to scare kids."
"Devil Dao's cultivators sure have it easy when it comes to killing; they don't need to bother with logic." Lan Chang'an chuckled.
In the previous life in Great Kun, there was a strange-looking evil cultivator. This evil cultivator once met a female cultivator on the road and exterminated her just because the other person looked at him more than once.
Another time, the same evil cultivator encountered a male cultivator on the road who didn't look at him at all. This had displeased him, so he killed him too.
This is why Lan Chang'an disguised himself as an evil cultivator to murder people. Liang Shaotian, a man of unpredictable nature and notorious in Liang Kingdom, had numerous crimes attributed to him by the sect: rape and murder of female cultivators, extermination of entire families, torture and killing of the elderly and children... the list went on.
Anyway, since he had so many crimes, what's one more? If he had quietly killed Huang Yu, Lan Chang'an felt it wouldn't be safe; the Huang Family might still link it back to him. But if someone else took the blame, it was a different story.
Lan Chang'an knew some rumors and intelligence about Liang Shaotian. It was said that this scoundrel had acquired a demonic inheritance from thousands of years ago and had also displayed powerful spiritual sense techniques in recent years. His body movement techniques were exceptional, and he had several cases of killing people by twisting their necks at close range.
The physical techniques within Lan Chang'an's Cloud Sand Body Refinement Manual were similarly speed-oriented, making them highly replicable.
"The soul imprint of the first life should recover within two months." Lan Chang'an's consciousness entered the Nine Seal Stele. The first seal contained the dim and lifeless projection of a handsome man.
Just now, to elevate his spiritual sense to the late Foundation Establishment stage, he had summoned the soul imprint of his first life.
After advancing to the Foundation Establishment stage, the soul projection of the first life was no longer considered a trump card, merely a temporary boost.
After all, his current cultivation and methods far exceeded those of his first life. If he could activate the peak Core Formation realm soul imprint of his second life, that would be his true trump card. ...
Feiyue Lake, Mu Family Manor.
The spiritual vortex above Moonheart Island suddenly collapsed and dispersed. This scene caused both the Mu and Huang Family cultivators to pause. The Huang Family cultivators were ecstatic and ceased their attacks.
"Haha! The heavens and people abhor the Feiyue Lake Mu Family—they have exhausted their destiny!" Huang Tankong stood with his hands behind his back, his thick laughter echoing through the sky.
"Ha ha ha... I've given you your chance, yet you squander it. A distinguished family head? More like a distinguished pork farmer!" Huang Yingchun, dressed in a lotus skirt, sneered disdainfully at the Mu Family residence below.
The Mu Family cultivators wore unsightly expressions, rendered speechless. Their morale was low, and they appeared desolate.
"Uncle Renlong, I have let everyone down." A hoarse and weak voice came from the depths of the secret cave dwelling.
"Alas, we were too hasty." Mu Renlong sighed in disappointment.
He had watched the entirety of Mu Chengji's attempt at reaching Foundation Establishment. The interference from the Huang Family had indeed played a part in his failure.
Mu Chengji's temperament had been unstable, and he had panicked at the last moment, causing his breakthrough to fail.
Compared to the previous family head, Mu Maode, Mu Chengji lacked experience and the composure of a great leader. Moreover, he was under immense psychological pressure.
This Foundation Establishment Pill embodied the efforts of the entire family and carried the high hopes of the ancestors, including Mu Xiuyun's voluntary sacrifice.
Breaking through under such pressure while facing external interference was understandably challenging. The state of one's mind has a significant influence when breaking through bottlenecks and reaching higher realms.
When Li Erqing had attempted his own Foundation Establishment, his mental state had been entirely different—his Foundation Establishment Pill had seemed to him like a lucky chance. Given his natural talent and background, even if his attempt failed, he would have felt no remorse.
...
A series of whooshes sounded near Feiyue Lake.
"Old ancestor! Something terrible has happened!" Two Huang Family cultivators hurriedly flew over, looking anxious.
"What's the point of panicking! One must remain calm in the face of adversity!" Huang Tankong reprimanded them with a stern face. He was in quite a good mood, and wasn't about to let these two excitable youngsters ruin it.
"Old ancestor! The Fourth Elder..." One of the cultivators transmitted his voice.
"What!" Huang Tankong's expression changed, staring at him in disbelief, his eyes showing a chilling light.
...
Above Moonheart Island.
An astonishing scene unfolded for the Mu Family cultivators. Huang Tankong and Huang Yingchun, both Foundation Establishment cultivators, suddenly turned pale, and without a word, led the Huang Family cultivators away in a hurry.
"What happened to the Huang Family?" The Mu Family cultivators were bewildered, completely at a loss.
Mu Renlong and Li Erqing exchanged a glance.
...
A hundred li away from the Mu Family Residence, near a mine area.
Staring at Huang Yu's decapitated body, the Huang Family's two Foundation Establishment ancestors and other high-ranking members had grim expressions. The atmosphere was terrifyingly silent.
"Are you sure the murderer is Liang Shaotian?" Huang Tankong's face was dark, his voice harsh, as he looked at the four late-stage Qi-Refining Huang Family cultivators.
"Describe every detail of the situation clearly."
"Yes, Old ancestor." The four Huang Family cultivators recounted the situation in its entirety, leaving out no detail.
"You said the Fourth Elder was killed instantly, without being able to put up any resistance?" Huang Yingchun's face turned pale as she questioned in disbelief.
"Yes, there was no struggle." The four Huang Family cultivators unanimously agreed.
Huang Tankong and Huang Yingchun looked at each other, unable to hide the shock in their eyes.
To instantly kill Huang Yu, who was at the third level of Foundation Establishment, with such means, it was clear it wasn't the Mu Family.
Huang Tankong, at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, could easily suppress Huang Yu but couldn't kill him in one strike. Only a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator could do that.
If the Mu Family had such a powerful cultivator, would they have been suppressed by the Huang Family for so many years? The Mu Family's focus was on reaching the Foundation Establishment stage; they had no extra energy for anything else.
"Liang Shaotian publicly appeared a few years ago, he was already at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage," Huang Yingchun murmured.
"Liang Shaotian seemed to have said something before he left," an elderly cultivator hesitated.
"What did he say!" Huang Tankong's eyes were sharp as he stared at him.
"He said, 'Do you dare look upon this venerable one more time?'" The elderly cultivator spoke bitterly.
The two Foundation Establishment cultivators and the Huang Family members were stunned.
"Just because someone dared to look at him?" Huang Tankong took a deep breath, veins bulging on his forehead.
The gathered Huang Family cultivators felt insulted, scorned, and enraged. Beneath it all, they felt profoundly terrified and powerless.
Such an unpredictable evil cultivator, any whim could lead to a massacre. Huang Yu's cause of death made everyone’s feet cold, wishing to avoid such a person at all costs.
"Which direction did Liang Shaotian go after the murder?" Huang Tankong's face changed again, asking seriously.
The Huang Family members realized something, feeling uneasy.
"He went north," the elderly cultivator replied.
The Huang Family members couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, their palms sweating. North led to the Black Fog Mountain Range. The Maple Leaf Huang Family was south of Feiyue Lake, not in the same direction.
...
A few days later.
The news of Huang Yu's death reached the Mu Family of Feiyue Lake, lifting their spirits and dispelling the gloom of the failed Foundation Establishment attempt.
Although the Mu Family didn't produce a Foundation Establishment cultivator, the Maple Leaf Huang Family lost one, and their youngest at that. The power gap between the two families had thus narrowed.
Feiyue Manor, Lakeside Courtyard.
"It's so lively out there." Lan Chang'an stretched lazily as he heard the cheers outside, then walked out to the courtyard.
Not long after, Li Erqing came to share the good news.
Li Erqing knew few details of Huang Yu's demise; the Maple Leaf Huang Family had communicated a unified story, placing the blame on Liang Shaotian. The only detail was that the young man had been killed instantly.
Lan Chang'an, upon inquiry, secretly laughed.
Neither the Huang Family nor the Mu Family could have imagined that the true murderer was an ancient old man who had just entered the Foundation Establishment Realm.
According to common sense, an elderly man reaching Foundation Establishment would not only have low potential but also weaker combat power compared to a younger Foundation Establishment cultivator. The Huang Family never suspected Lan Chang'an.
Furthermore, Lan Chang'an had fabricated an alibi for himself. The Illusory Truth Talisman within his room would have gone undetected unless a Foundation Establishment cultivator walked in to inspect it closely.
The Huang Family's spy in the Mu Family reported that Lan Chang'an had stayed within the Mu Family's territory recently.
"It's funny that a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Huang Family was killed, yet they dare only to feign condemnation, too afraid to even speak harshly." Li Erqing mocked, "Young Huang Family cultivators spoke out in righteous indignation, only to be silenced with a warning and forbidden from speaking further on the matter."
Lan Chang'an's eyes flashed, guessing that the Huang Family was deeply frightened by the phrase "do you dare look upon this venerable one more time?"
After Li Erqing left, Lan Chang'an checked the loot in his storage pouch, smiling broadly.
Before returning to the Mu Family, he had cleaned out Huang Yu's storage pouch, removing anything suspicious. The former young master of the Huang Family contributed over two thousand spirit stones and three superior-grade magical weapons, all top-notch.
In addition, there was a host of other magical weapons, pills, talismans, materials, and other miscellaneous goods.
Along with the selling of the Foundation Establishment Pill for five thousand spirit stones, his wealth had now skyrocketed.
...
(End of chapter)