The Myriad Soul Banner swept through the air, its body churning and swirling as a dense, dark black mist surged outward like a tidal wave.
Wherever the banner's shadow passed, the people in the stronghold froze in place. Their faces were locked in expressions of absolute terror, their eyes wide open, unable to make another sound as they instantly turned into cold corpses.
The shrill, agonizing screams that had been rising and falling just moments ago lasted for only a few breaths. As the wind swept across the wilderness, only a suffocating silence remained.
Liu Qingqing's shoulders trembled slightly, and she hid behind Lu Lingfeng and the other. She had made up her mind: she must never provoke Junior Sister Jiang.
She was even more terrifying than Eldest Senior Sister. It would be best to stay far away from her in the future. Why hadn't her own delicate, innocent appearance evoked any affection or pity from Junior Sister Jiang?
Could she have taken the wrong approach?
Her eyes flickered as she told herself that this wouldn't do; she needed to observe secretly before making her next move.
“Second Senior Brother, isn't ghost cultivation something only disciples with a dark spiritual root can practice? In the entire cultivation world, the number of disciples who become ghost cultivators can be counted on one hand, and every single one of them is the treasure of their respective power. No wonder she was quietly accepted as a direct disciple.”
Xi Siyu leaned in and whispered into Lu Lingfeng's ear, surprise flashing in his eyes.
“Heh, exactly. But!”
He let out a cold laugh, his tone carrying a hint of gritted teeth, though there was also a trace of eagerness in his eyes.
“Isn't Junior Sister Jiang also an inner sect disciple of our Liuyun Sect? Even though she has already taken a master, it's not like our master can't try to snatch her away!”
Xi Siyu and Liu Qingqing suddenly whipped their heads around to stare at him, their eyes wide. Was he serious?
The two of them quietly took a few steps back. Second Senior Brother really was bold. Was he truly not afraid of Martial Uncle Ye chasing him down and beating him up?
Jiang Lu had no idea what the three of them were plotting. She was currently looking at the Myriad Soul Banner's actions with satisfaction, casting a glance at the group of people who were too terrified to make a sound.
She had not forgotten about them.
With a flash of spiritual energy in her hand, she threw them into the Black Wind Stronghold.
Whoosh—
The Myriad Soul Banner let out a whistling sound as it returned to Jiang Lu's back. With a flash of golden light, it shrank and tucked itself into her sash.
However, the golden light vanished in the blink of an eye, and none of the four people present noticed it.
Jiang Lu's eyes flickered as she pinched her fingers to perform a quick divination. The corners of her lips curled upward; there was no negative karmic retribution.
In that case, she could punish evil and promote good without any worries!
“Let's go. Let's head inside and take a look.”
Jiang Lu released Youmeng, who leapt onto her shoulder, its tiny body squirming as it sniffed around.
With a wave of Jiang Lu's hand, the heavy wooden gates slowly creaked open to both sides.
She was the first to walk in. The Black Wind Stronghold occupied a vast area, and there were even several cultivated plots of land within the stronghold.
She swept her divine sense over the surroundings and quickly located their secret room.
Inside the secret room were countless riches, provisions, and many gold and silver ornaments.
Jiang Lu looked at the others and said in a cheerful tone,
“These are the spoils of war. If there's anything you like, take it!”
Lu Lingfeng and Xi Siyu were not particularly interested in these things, but on second thought, the mortal families of the cultivation world did seem to use gold and silver, so they selected a few items.
Liu Qingqing was extremely pleased when she saw the exquisite jewelry. After all, she loved these kinds of things. Even though it did not quite fit her persona, she could just wear them secretly, changing them out every day so no one would notice.
Jiang Lu looked at what they had left behind and, with a wave of her hand, swept everything into her space. In these times, as they traveled further, they would surely encounter commoners in need of these resources.
“Let's split up and look around,” Jiang Lu suggested.
The others nodded, having had the same thought.
“Over there!”
Youmeng's red eyes scanned the surroundings, guiding Jiang Lu toward the second-largest building.
Creak—
The wooden door was gently pushed open a crack, and a wave of foul air, a mixture of rot and blood, rushed over her.
Jiang Lu's brow furrowed sharply. She immediately circulated her spiritual energy to seal off her senses, shielding herself from the nauseating stench.
This stench was not merely the smell of rotting clutter; it had long since permeated and saturated every inch of the air in the room.
Looking around, the room's furnishings were simple and crude: a table, a stool, and a wooden bed. It looked no different from any ordinary bandit's quarters, making it difficult for an average person stepping inside to notice anything amiss.
Jiang Lu walked slowly to the side of the wooden bed, focusing her mind to carefully trace the source of the odor.
Following the flow of the foul air, her gaze eventually locked onto the wardrobe against the wall.
The intense, sickening stench was constantly wafting out from behind it.
Her expression turned slightly cold. With a light wave of her delicate hand, the heavy wardrobe slid to the side with a loud rumble, revealing a pitch-black passage entrance in the wall.
She stepped inside, where the air was somewhat damp.
A rotting, metallic stench hung heavily at her nose, making her chest feel inexplicably tight.
The deeper she went, the more intense the cold and eerie atmosphere became, faintly carrying an unsettling, malevolent energy.
Once her vision pierced through the gloom at the end of the passage, the scene before her was suddenly revealed, and Jiang Lu's eyes darkened instantly.
Several iron cages were neatly arranged in the depths of the secret passage. The iron bars were rusted black, and the cages themselves were empty, save for heaps of stark white, scattered bones lying quietly on the ground.
The bones were fragmented and broken, presenting a gruesome and terrifying sight. One could faintly tell that they had once belonged to living human beings, though there was no telling how many days they had been imprisoned and tortured here.
She continued to scan the rest of the area.
Standing against the walls on both sides of the passage was a row of old wooden cabinets. Their shelves were packed with porcelain bottles and clay jars of all shapes and sizes. Though tightly sealed, they constantly seeped a faint, ghostly chill of foul air.
Jiang Lu's eyes narrowed slightly. With a gentle wave of her hand, a soft current of spiritual energy swept up one of the bottles from the cabinet.
She lowered her gaze slightly and brought the bottle's opening close to her nose, carefully sniffing the aura inside.
In the next instant, her brow twitched.
A very faint, sinister, and sticky trace of Gu energy seeped into her nose. It was cold and eerie, bringing an instant wave of discomfort.
Almost at the exact same moment, she caught sight of Youmeng on her shoulder out of the corner of her eye, and the two of them exchanged a look.
Youmeng was also incredibly excited, its tiny red eyes staring intently at the porcelain bottles, filled with a bright gleam.
They were Gu insects!
Highly toxic Gu insects!
Jiang Lu quickly probed the contents of the bottles, and a wave of coldness surged through her heart.
The bottoms of the bottles held dried, dark bloodstains, and the Gu energy was heavily laced with the scent of human blood, clearly revealing the truth—these Gu insects had all been nurtured daily with the flesh and blood of living humans.
Her chest tightened violently as a bone-deep rage surged from the depths of her heart.
Those bandits of the Black Wind Stronghold had all been executed just moments ago, but looking at this now, that was far too easy of a death for them!
Ordinary slaughter was cruel enough, yet they had secretly excavated an underground passage to imprison living humans and raise dark Gu, sacrificing over a hundred lives to nourish these evil insects, accumulating boundless negative karma.
Just the Gu insects in these bottles alone must have consumed the flesh and blood of least a hundred people! Their mountain of blood debts was too numerous to record.
Jiang Lu suppressed the cold ruthlessness swirling in her eyes. With a flick of spiritual energy from her fingertips, she swept all the bottles and jars containing the Gu insects into her personal space.
Leaving these toxic Gu insects here would only lead to future disaster. It would be safest to hand them over to Youmeng to deal with once they left.
Rate on N.U.
