Chapter 497: The Blood-Handed Human Fiend Li Tu

"I went to pay homage to the direct-line Heishi He Tianlan, and on the way back, I was ambushed."

Jiang Ding showed a faint, inexplicable smile.

It was true that the Heishi clan's Black Snow Great Grasslands had fallen into chaos.

But that did not include the area within ten thousand li of Tushan Xiancheng; here, order still reigned, and Heishi disciples stood supreme.

This was a place where Nascent Soul cultivators secluded themselves for cultivation.

No matter how arrogant a Jin Dan cultivator might be, none would dare overstep even slightly, let alone harbor killing intent; public order had always been excellent.

The struggle between the collateral and direct-line Jin Dan cultivators seemed about to draw blood.

Both sides were forming factions within the Heishi clan, courting vassal forces. The direct-line Jin Dan cultivators, relying on thousands of years of ruling inertia, drew the loyalty of a great many vassal forces and collateral-branch Jin Dan cultivators. The collateral branch, relying on its own bulk and greater number of Jin Dan cultivators, likewise drew a group of supporters.

"What did the Hall Master of the Steward Hall, He Tianlan, say?"

Jiang Ding asked.

As the book-boy and loyal servant of a certain generation's Heishi clan head, the Wei family of Tuling had served the Heishi direct line for over a thousand years, generation after generation. Many Wei clan Jin Dan cultivators had died in battle, without complaint or regret; they had always been a die-hard direct-line vassal force.

Wei Qingqing's visit this time was surely to seek support.

"Hall Master Tianlan said,"

Wei Qingqing's eyes filled with cold intent: "For now, we must endure."

"With the Old Ancestor not taking sides, and the clan head He Chengwu—who carries the faint reputation of being the next-generation Nascent Soul seed—having been transferred elsewhere, the direct-line Jin Dan cultivators have fallen into a great disadvantage. The little strength they have must be used to court the wavering loose-cultivator forces."

"My Wei clan, loyal servants through the generations, utterly devoted."

"We can only, for now, be sacrificed."

"In the future, there will be compensation."

Wei Qingqing regained her composure.

"Oh?"

Jiang Ding said with great interest: "Shouldn't such loyal servants be treated well? As a model, to inspire those who come after."

He knew that, when it came to political struggle and scheming, he had a great shortcoming. In the immortal sect there had been no chance to hone these skills, and beyond the boundary he had also done his utmost to avoid such matters, so his ability in this area was quite poor.

This woman, who had single-handedly led her clan for over a hundred years within a Heishi den of demons like this, should be stronger than him in this regard—perfect for learning a thing or two.

"Ran into a stupid pig."

Wei Qingqing said calmly: "Perhaps he thought the loyalty of vassal clans like ours would last forever, as if it were something ordained by heaven."

"After all, for the past several thousand years it has always been this way: with the Nascent Soul Old Ancestor present, and the outside world being the territory of other North Plain clans, they would absolutely never accept runaway slaves—instead, they would hunt them down, leaving no escape on earth or in heaven."

"Therefore, even if wronged to the extreme, they could never betray; instead, they grew ever more loyal."

"Only vassal clans like this could survive on this grassland."

"So that's how it is."

Jiang Ding suddenly understood, and thought for a moment.

"It's a bit like the monarchs and ministers of a dying dynasty, with all sorts of inhuman, bottomless operations."

"Enough, I'll go take a look, see if I can resolve it."

How to resolve it?

Naturally, by killing.

To prevent anyone from connecting it to the Wei family, he had a method: just kill a few more, then leave behind a faint trace of aura. Mm, he'll choose Li Tu, currently third on Tushan Xiancheng's wanted list, ranked just below Han Lin. After all, that fellow had also killed several direct-line Heishi Jin Dan cultivators before—one more wouldn't matter.

……

Over twenty thousand kilometers away.

In the middle of the vast grassland, a black stone mountain peak several hundred meters high rose abruptly.

This place was called Black Blood Mountain, a top-grade third-tier spiritual vein, guarded by a mid-stage Jin Dan cultivator named Black Wolf Eagle. Being of direct-line birth, he had been granted a top-grade third-tier spiritual vein as his cultivation ground despite only being at mid-stage Jin Dan.

Black Wolf Eagle, who had been in quiet cultivation, suddenly opened his eyes.

He suddenly felt a trace of unease.

"This feeling?"

Black Wolf Eagle's expression turned solemn.

He did not panic. He channeled his magic power, and strands of green wolf fur sprouted from his arms and body. His skull twisted and stretched, his beak sharpened, transforming into an eagle's head. The feral bloodlust of a great demon and the cruel savagery of a Jin Dan demonic cultivator appeared on him at once.

His innate bloodline granted him spiritual sensitivity, allowing him to foresee approaching danger. Relying on this talent, he had escaped death many times from the battlefields of the Dari Sect, enduring bitterly for over a hundred years until the war finally ended.

"Something that can make me feel danger…"

"Not the Dari Sect or the Dari Sword Sect—after years of bloody fighting, they're exhausted too; they won't come here in recent years."

Black Wolf Eagle rapidly searched his mind: "It could be one of the top nine riders of the Blood Cloud Eighteen Riders. I heard they've absorbed many loose cultivators, keeping the best and discarding the rest to replenish those who died in battle before, making them even stronger."

"Or could it be the collateral branch's He Louxi and others finally tearing off the mask?"

"That cheap skin He Louxi, just like her mother He Chenghong, is ungrateful—completely forgetting the clan's past cultivation of them, daring to covet the position of the main branch."

"Perhaps it's really time to slaughter these insubordinate wretches clean, and fill the various regions with vassal clans and loose-cultivator experts. These dog-slaves are very useful, and very loyal; they have no legal claim to contest the clan head position, and won't threaten us direct-line members."

"Or maybe it's someone among the loose cultivators…"

Amid these many thoughts, he activated the formations of Black Blood Mountain. Pillars of blood-flame wolf-smoke rose into the air, and at the same time he unhesitatingly ignited the Heishi direct-line distress talisman.

Actually, his body's danger-sense had been wrong quite a few times—nothing was ever encountered. In many cases, the clan members rushed over for nothing, and then received severe punishment.

But he paid it no mind; every time he sensed danger, he immediately acted in this way.

Although he had offended quite a few people within the clan, there were also times when he had saved quite a few direct-line clan members, so it was still barely within their tolerance.

This time, the distress talisman received no response at all.

"What?"

Black Wolf Eagle was startled into terror. The warning omen in his heart suddenly surged violently, his heart pounded fiercely, and boundless fear welled up in his mind, nearly suffocating him: "Spare me! I will—"

Boom!

A blood-red, gore-soaked hand, its palm lines clearly visible between the five fingers, with a blood-red vortex slowly spinning in its center, pressed down and ground him into a pulp of flesh and blood, the blood within squeezed out, leaving only a pale mass of blood-skin and shattered bone.

A youth with pale skin, handsome features, and a half-translucent complexion slowly withdrew his palm.

Anyone who saw this would surely cry out in terror.

Blood-Hand Man-Demon Li Tu!

Third on Tushan Xiancheng's wanted list, he had slain General Heishi's direct-line Jin Dan cultivators many times, and personally massacred a Heishi royal court where a great number of direct-line mortals resided—millions of Heishi direct-line mortals who could theoretically open Wangting Fudi were refined into blood-water; the losses were catastrophic.

"A sudden premonition?"

"This sort of thing is somewhat unreasonable; perhaps a method of karmic concealment could shield it."

Blood-Hand Man-Demon Li Tu muttered to himself.

A mere mid-stage Jin Dan cultivator had actually sensed something before his strike, instead of passing painlessly into reincarnation—this was simply a disgrace!

As for a third-tier top-grade formation, he could have infiltrated it back when he was at Foundation Establishment.

With a wave of his hand, he collected the storage bag.

He then set up another layer over the formation, sealing inside from outside, so that for at least several months it would not be discovered.

A Jin Dan cultivator entering closed-door cultivation for several months was the most normal thing imaginable; no one would find it strange and forcibly break through the formation to look for someone.

As for the soul lamp, a remnant soul would not extinguish at this time either.

This was the fourth household.

"It's about time; I should go find the Shi clan and Yu clan."

"Hehehehe… the fearsome name of I, Blood-Hand Man-Demon Li Tu, shall once again spread across the entire Black Snow Great Grassland."

Two

(End of this chapter)