Heart-Questioning Illusion Array

Hearing the words "Bone-Eroding Spirit-Dissolving Powder," Han Feng's pupils contracted violently.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about..."

Sizzle—

Gu Yang didn't waste his breath. With a flick of his finger,

A wisp of Golden Crow True Fire landed on Han Feng's left shoulder.

There was no crackling sound of burning flames, only the hissing of flesh and blood being instantly vaporized.

That shoulder, along with the bone, simply disappeared, leaving a gaping, see-through black hole.

Because the extreme heat had instantly cauterized the blood vessels, not a single drop of blood spilled out.

"Ahhhhh—I'll talk!! I'll talk!!"

Han Feng rolled on the ground in agonizing pain.

"It's a mission! It's a sect mission!"

"I don't know who the employer is... I really don't know..."

"I just placed the poison at the designated spot in the back mountain of the Alchemy Hall... and then... then Deacon Wang of the Alchemy Hall took it! I saw it with my own eyes! Only this once! Really, only this once!"

Alchemy Hall, Deacon Wang.

"Very good."

Gu Yang nodded, his facial expression completely devoid of any fluctuation.

"Since Senior Brother Han has been so cooperative, I should also fulfill my promise and help you cure this problem of 'excessive Yang fire'."

Han Feng froze for a moment, and then a spark of hope for survival erupted in his eyes.

"Thank you, Senior! Thank you for sparing my life, Senior! I will absolutely never speak of today's matters..."

"No need to thank me."

Gu Yang stood up, looking down at him from above, a cold curve appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Your cultivation of the Righteous Qi has gone astray. There are too many impurities in your body."

"Only a blazing fire can purge them."

Before his voice faded,

Boom!

Gu Yang's palm slammed heavily onto the crown of Han Feng's head.

There wasn't much of a sound.

Han Feng's entire body suddenly stiffened, his eyeballs nearly bulging out of their sockets.

In the next second,

Countless streaks of dark golden flames frantically spewed out from his seven orifices and pores!

His flesh, bones, and even that filthy soul melted away rapidly like snow under a scorching sun in the face of this overbearing Golden Crow True Fire.

There were no screams.

Because his vocal cords were incinerated in the very first instant.

In just two short breaths,

Only a pile of black ashes remained on the ground; along with his white robes, he was burned completely clean.

Even the nauseating stench of blood and urine in the air was thoroughly purified by the extreme heat.

It was as if this person had never existed in this world.

Only that storage bag lay solitarily amidst the ashes, casually drawn into Gu Yang's palm.

Deathly silence returned to the room once more.

Only the medicine pot on the small red clay stove was still bubbling and gurgling.

In the corner,

Ruan Xiaoruan's eyes were wide open. She covered her mouth tightly, large teardrops rolling down her cheeks, yet she did not dare to make a single sound.

She looked at the scar-faced man before her, who seemed like a demonic god.

That Senior Brother Han Feng, who commanded the wind and rain and stood high and mighty in the outer sect... was just gone like that?

Turned into... a pile of ash?

Gu Yang turned around.

Ruan Xiaoruan flinched in terror, almost fainting.

Gu Yang did not approach her. He merely stood where he was and glanced at the steaming medicine pot.

"Too much licorice, not enough angelica."

Gu Yang's voice remained hoarse, but it was no longer as icy as before.

"If your father drinks this medicine, his life can be sustained for three days, but after that, he will suffer a severe deficiency of qi and blood, and die even faster."

After saying that, he took out a porcelain bottle from his robes and casually tossed it over.

The porcelain bottle traced a parabola in the air and landed steadily on the pile of straw in Ruan Xiaoruan's arms.

"There is an Essence Consolidating Pill inside. Dissolve it in water and feed it to your father in three doses."

"Furthermore."

Gu Yang pointed at the pile of ashes on the ground.

"Han Feng was never here tonight, and he has never seen you."

"Do you understand?"

Holding the porcelain bottle that still carried his body heat, Ruan Xiaoruan nodded blankly, bobbing her head like a pestle pounding garlic.

"I... I understand..."

By the time she raised her head again,

The dilapidated wooden door was creaking in the night wind.

The room was completely empty. Where was the figure of the gray-robed man?

If not for the shocking pile of black ashes on the ground and the very real pill bottle in her arms,

All of this would have seemed like an absurd nightmare.

Trembling, Ruan Xiaoruan crawled over and shut the door tight.

Leaning against the door, her body slowly slid down. Hugging the porcelain bottle, she began to cry silently.

...

...

Inside the cave dwelling.

In front of him lay four storage bags.

Two were from the demonic cultivators of Severed Soul Valley, one was from the Holy Maiden of the Supreme Sword Sect, Ji Shuanghua, and the last one belonged to Han Feng, who had just been turned to ash.

"Murder and arson yield belts of gold; the ancients truly did not deceive me."

Gu Yang tapped his fingertips, his spiritual energy slicing through the residual divine sense imprints on the storage bags as precisely as a scalpel.

Clatter—

A large pile of miscellaneous items spilled out onto the stone bed.

First were the two demonic cultivators.

He had to admit, although demonic cultivators were poor, they carried the most ready cash.

He gathered over two thousand low-grade spirit stones alone, along with a few low-grade demonic artifacts reeking of blood, and several bottles of sinister pills refined from living souls.

"Keep the spirit stones, and as for the rest... burn them."

Gu Yang did not hesitate at all.

These demonic artifacts and pills carried sect markings that were far too obvious; keeping them would only invite disaster.

Spitting golden flames from his palm, those demonic artifacts melted into a puddle of molten iron without even letting out a wail.

Next was Han Feng.

"Poor bastard."

Gu Yang rummaged through it. Aside from a few hundred spirit stones and a couple of bottles of the sect's standard Qi Recovery Pills, there was only a handwritten copy of the Righteous Heavenly Dipper Art.

Only a purple gold token engraved with the character "Zhao" made Gu Yang take a second look.

That was a token given to in-name disciples by the Grand Elder, Zhao Wuji.

"Keeping this is a hidden danger."

Crack.

Golden flames surged, and the token instantly vaporized.

In this cultivation world, the belongings of the dead were only truly clean when turned to ash.

Finally, Gu Yang's gaze fell upon the storage bag embroidered with exquisite cloud patterns, which still carried a faint, cold fragrance.

Ji Shuanghua.

As expected, the net worth of the Holy Maiden of the Supreme Sword Sect was quite substantial.

There were a full five thousand spirit stones, and most of them were mid-grade.

There were also several bottles of crystal-clear, top-tier healing pills known as Jade Dew Pills, which were hard to buy on the market even with a thousand pieces of gold.

In addition to those, there was a jade slip radiating a piercing sword intent, as well as a few pieces of a woman's intimate undergarments, folded neatly and flawlessly white.

Expressionless, Gu Yang swept the spirit stones and pills into his own storage ring.

As for the jade slip recording the Supreme Sword Sect's secret sword techniques...

"Keeping it is just a hot potato."

Destroy it.

When his fingertips touched those snow-white undergarments, Gu Yang's fingers paused.

The image of that woman shivering in a mud pit, her eyes filled with a fanatical and morbid look, surfaced in his mind.

"Sick in the head."

Like throwing away trash, Gu Yang tossed those intimate garments—which would be enough to drive countless male cultivators crazy—along with a jumble of miscellaneous magical artifacts, straight into the Golden Crow True Fire.

Sizzle, sizzle—

The flames danced, devouring all traces completely.

Gu Yang finished tallying his harvest.

The spirit stones totaled eight thousand, along with some miscellaneous pills.

Now that he had achieved Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, although he was nominally a Qi Condensation handyman, his strength surpassed that of most inner sect disciples.

Right at this moment.

Buzz.

A faint fluctuation of spiritual energy pierced through the cave dwelling's restrictions.

An exquisitely folded paper crane fluttered its wings and hovered in front of Gu Yang.

The paper crane bore no written words, exuding only a chill that made one's heart palpitate.

It was the aura of Shen Qingyue.

"Come to the Cold Moon Palace."

The paper crane burst into flames, dissolving into a few icy syllables that echoed through the deathly silent cave dwelling.

Each word landed like a bead of ice striking the ground, crisp and clear, yet laced with an oppressive tension.

Gu Yang raised his head, looking at the ashes of the burnt paper.

The Heart-Questioning Illusion Array was finally here.

...