[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star":3,"chapter-after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-16":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","After Fifteen Years of Secret Cultivation, I Start as a Top-Grade Ultimate Peak!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2282124,4464,"Chapter 16: Change of Fortune","after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-16",16,"\u003Cp>“Lead the way. If we can leave this forest safely, I promise I won’t kill you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cang Yin Yue flipped onto the mule, gesturing to Yu Changlu, whose arms hung limp, to walk ahead on the mountain path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Changlu offered no resistance, immediately shuffling forward with his arms swinging.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew he had no choice; under these circumstances, only submission could buy him time until reinforcements from the alliance arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So as long as Cang Yin Yue didn’t kill him, he’d do anything she asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Muxian observed everything, said nothing, and slapped the mule’s back, letting it follow slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no intention of confronting Cang Yin Yue’s misunderstanding with a punch that would shatter mountains and crumble earth, forcing her wide, Kala-zi eyes to witness the true might of a Wu Dao apex master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unnecessary. He had long passed the age of seeking dominance or proving himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All he wanted now was to wander the world, seeking the chance to transcend Wu Dao—and Shangyang City in Da Li was his first stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The long stretch that followed was quiet, with no more members of the Blood Alliance encountered and no traces of battle along the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Yu Changlu’s expression grew increasingly unnatural.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ever since the bald giant sent the signal, he had rushed with his men to ambush the nearby mountain path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Meng Shan and Yuan Mei were too formidable; despite losing several men, he failed to stop them—and they escaped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And since he lacked agility, he had no choice but to stay behind and guard the path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Logically, by now, the Blood Alliance’s elite should have seen the signal and arrived, just as he had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet throughout this journey, he hadn’t seen a single elite of the alliance—not even a lowly thug.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Could it be that something’s happened within the alliance? Are those bastards from Yinshan Gate and Yanjiu City attacking?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Changlu trudged along the rough mountain path, frowning deeply in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t notice a blood-drenched hand, emerging from waist-high weeds beside the path, suddenly gripping his ankle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, Yu Changlu’s eyelid twitched; though his tendons had been severed and his martial skill reduced to less than one-tenth, he wasn’t utterly panicked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stomped hard, shaking off the hand, then sidestepped sharply, exploding power from a single leg to kick violently into the bushes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thud!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a muffled crack of breaking bone, a figure flew out from the bushes, tumbling through the air before rolling onto the path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, Yu Changlu finally saw the figure’s face—and froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He realized the hand that grabbed him belonged to the bald giant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Changlu had just seen the man moments ago; the giant had been chasing Meng Shan and the others—so why was he hiding in these weeds?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What happened?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Changlu rushed forward, swinging his arms, but found the bald giant barely breathing after that kick—on the verge of death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Cang Yin Yue spurred her horse forward, frowning as she scanned the corpse on the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man’s condition was horrific: his eyes gouged out, blood streaming from all seven orifices, his skin a strange, unnatural bluish-black—clearly poisoned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tell me—who did this to you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Changlu leaned close, urgently questioning, but the bald giant could only struggle to open his mouth, then died without uttering a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you hadn’t kicked him, he might have spoken a few words.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cang Yin Yue shook her head, her expression thoughtful:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“From the martial style, he was wounded by a sinister claw technique. Doesn’t look like something Meng Shan or Yuan Mei would do—but then again, someone might have secretly mastered such a skill.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had observed Meng Shan and Yuan Mei’s techniques before, so she knew them well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the bald giant’s condition didn’t seem like their work, she couldn’t rule it out entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside her, Li Muxian stared at the corpse, lost in thought, yet said nothing. He turned to Yu Changlu and smiled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s keep moving. If you encounter something like this again, remember to be gentler—leave your own men alive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Yu Changlu’s face flushed and paled in turns, but he dared not reply. He left the bald giant’s body behind and continued along the path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What followed made Yu Changlu’s face grow darker and more terrified with every step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every so often along the path, several corpses appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each corpse was gruesomely mutilated—eyes gouged, hearts torn out, blood pouring from all seven orifices, poisoned to the core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And without exception, all were members of the Blood Alliance; not only common disciples, but several sect masters—cultivators of the Primordial Stage—were dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It must be those bastards from Yinshan Gate—their techniques are the most cruel and venomous!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Changlu’s face darkened like a storm, fear creeping into his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Given this situation, he knew rescue from the alliance’s elites would never come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those sect masters, stronger than him, died so pitifully—what chance did he have now, in this state, if he met Yinshan Gate’s people? He’d die worse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young master, young lady, you’ve seen the situation. If we keep going, we’ll surely meet those bastards.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yu Changlu suddenly stopped midway and pleaded desperately to Li Muxian and Cang Yin Yue:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s turn back now while we still can. I swear on my life—I’ll get you both safely out of Chongzhou via another route.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Cang Yin Yue’s expression also darkened; for the first time, hesitation flickered in her eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had seen everything along the way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And she saw deeper than Yu Changlu—clearer about what was truly happening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She realized these dead members of the Blood Alliance were not killed by an opposing force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was only one killer—throughout.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Cang Yin Yue’s view, this killer was not only brutal but also possessed martial strength surpassing her own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly, he was exceptionally skilled in poison arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether facing Primordial Stage masters or ordinary disciples, he always used poison—without exception.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cang Yin Yue had examined the toxins on the corpses and realized: this man wasn’t just killing—he was cultivating his poison art.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The further back the corpses, the stronger the poison on them—indicating the killer’s poison art was growing stronger with each kill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1040,"2026-06-20T01:43:38.503Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","08522ed7e60364f76e90fb3e0c18e586217b34df0afcf8c6878411f49f855fb0","after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-17","after-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-chapter-15",259,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fafter-fifteen-years-of-secret-cultivation-i-star-cover.jpg"]