As Spring Breeze Blows, Even Dogs Start Spreading Rumors

The Southern Reaches of Zhongzhou.

In a vast city of rogue cultivators called Green Deer City, a teahouse buzzed with voices.

The city belonged to none of the Twelve Sacred Lands, yet it lay close to the trade route between the Taiyin Sacred Land and the Golden Tower Sacred Land.

Every day, warriors, merchant caravans, escort guards, fugitives, and wandering heroes passed through in endless streams.

The more chaotic a place was, the better it was for rumors to take root.

Second floor of the teahouse.

A lean storyteller rose and slammed his hand onto the table.

“Everyone!”

“Today, we won’t talk about sword immortals slaying demons, nor witches eloping.”

“Today, we’ll talk about the Holy-Demon War beyond Yellow Springs Ferry!”

The crowd below immediately perked up.

“Yellow Springs Ferry?”

“I heard the place turned into a battlefield!”

“Is it true? The Twelve Sacred Lands really went to war with the Demon Sects?”

“Nonsense! My uncle’s nephew’s sworn brother is a spirit-medicine peddler in the Land of Darkness. He saw the heavens split open with his own eyes!”

The storyteller nodded in satisfaction.

He cleared his throat and lowered his voice.

“Does everyone know why this war began?”

Someone shouted:

“Wasn’t it because of an Emperor of Great Xia named Wang Hao?”

The storyteller sneered.

“Emperor of Great Xia?”

“You believe that?”

“One emperor infiltrated the Land of Sin alone and survived pursuit by three Transcendents?”

“Do you think he’s some chosen child of destiny?”

In a corner, an undercover guard of Great Xia silently sipped his tea.

He thought to himself:

Sorry.

That’s exactly what happened.

But that couldn’t be said aloud.

The storyteller continued:

“The true reason is that the Twelve Sacred Lands had already drawn up a plan to exterminate the demons!”

“First, they used the Blood Lotus Sacred Land as bait to assassinate the Young Lord of Yellow Springs, Meng Que.”

“Then they provoked the Yellow Springs Demon Sect into launching an all-out attack.”

“After that, the Taiyin, Sword Ruins, and Golden Tower Sacred Lands ambushed the main forces of Yellow Springs.”

“Finally, they used Yellow Springs Ferry as a springboard to invade the Land of Sin!”

The crowd drew a collective breath.

“That ruthless?”

Someone immediately objected.

“Impossible!”

“The Sacred Lands are the leaders of the righteous path. How could they assassinate a young lord?”

The storyteller glanced at him as though he were looking at an idiot.

“My friend, you’re still young.”

“When it comes to the phrase ‘leaders of the righteous path,’ the emphasis has never been on ‘righteous path.’”

“It’s on ‘leaders.’”

The entire teahouse erupted in laughter.

The objector flushed red.

“Then what evidence do you have?”

The storyteller had been waiting for that question.

He took a battered Memory Stone from his sleeve.

He infused it with spiritual power.

A blurry image emerged.

The Blood Lotus Martial God assassinated Meng Que.

Xue Wuhen roared as he rushed to save him.

Wang Hao suppressed the Blood Lotus Martial God with a single palm.

The lingering soul cried out in broken fragments:

“Acting on orders… kill Meng Que… provoke… war…”

The moment the Memory Stone appeared, the teahouse exploded.

“There really is testimony from a lingering soul!”

“The Blood Lotus Sacred Land has gone mad!”

“Not mad. This was planned from the beginning!”

The objector spoke again.

“That Memory Stone could be fake!”

The storyteller nodded.

“Quite true.”

“So why do you think the Blood Lotus Sacred Land was in such a hurry to hunt down every witness?”

“Why did three hundred and seventy-two disciples die outside Yellow Springs Ferry, only for the news to be suppressed?”

“Why has the Taiyin Sacred Land’s caravan been frantically buying soul-sealing materials lately?”

The objector was dumbfounded.

He had only meant to say that the Memory Stone might be fake.

He had not expected three questions in rapid succession.

He opened his mouth, but in the end could only force out:

“Perhaps… perhaps it was all a coincidence.”

Someone in the teahouse sneered.

“When there are too many coincidences, they stop being coincidences.”

In the corner, the undercover guard of Great Xia silently marked another name on his list.

Green Deer City—the first spark had been successfully lit.

At the same time.

The Land of Darkness.

In a black market known as the Chaos Bone Bazaar, demon cultivators, rogue cultivators, half-demons, and fugitives were packed shoulder to shoulder.

There was only one rule here.

Don’t die in front of a stall and block the owner from doing business.

A broad-faced, heavily built vendor was selling fragments of demonic artifacts.

Nearby, two drunkards were arguing until their faces turned red.

“I’m telling you, the Twelve Sacred Lands are going to seal off the Land of Darkness!”

“Bullshit! Why would they seal this place off?”

“To search for spies from the Demon Sects!”

“I’m a rogue cultivator, not a spy!”

“When the Sacred Lands investigate you, do you think they’ll care whether you are one?”

The faces of those nearby changed.

That remark had hit far too close to home.

In the eyes of the disciples of the Sacred Lands, rogue cultivators were barely different from stray dogs.

And the rogue cultivators of the Land of Darkness?

They were like stray dogs covered in mange.

If the Sacred Lands truly began a purge, who would bother distinguishing between them?

The other drunkard took advantage of the moment and lowered his voice.

“I also heard that the Nine Great Demon Sects are preparing to make a move.”

“They plan to capture people in the Land of Darkness and refine them into battle slaves.”

“Anyone at the Astral Energy Realm or above will have a soul seal branded on them.”

“Anyone at the Skyflight Realm or above will be refined directly into a corpse puppet.”

A rogue cultivator at the Skyflight Realm slammed his bowl to pieces.

“Who would dare?”

The drunkard shrank back.

“I only heard it from someone else.”

“Who?”

“An outer disciple administrator from the Yellow Springs Demon Sect.”

“What’s his name?”

“Huang San.”

In a corner, Wang Hao—disguised as an outer disciple administrator of Yellow Springs—was quietly eating noodles.

Hearing his new name mentioned, his expression did not change. He even added a little more chili to his bowl.

On the other side of the Chaos Bone Bazaar, an undercover guard of Great Xia disguised as a black-market broker was secretly selling what he claimed were “internal letters from the Sacred Lands.”

The letter read:

“The trade routes of the Land of Darkness are complicated, with demon cultivators and rogue cultivators mixed together. If war breaks out, we may first seal the trade routes and cut off their supplies. If necessary, some rogue cultivators may be sacrificed to intimidate the Demon Sects.”

Signed: Foreign Affairs Hall, Golden Tower Sacred Land.

Naturally, it was fake.

But the paper was genuine spirit-pattern paper.

The seal was also the genuine external affairs seal of the Golden Tower Sacred Land.

Wang Hao had picked it up from the battlefield at Yellow Springs Ferry.

A merchant guild manager who purchased the letter turned pale after reading it.

“The Sacred Lands are going to cut off the trade routes?”

“What are we supposed to do with the three hundred thousand pounds of spirit grain we’ve stockpiled?”

“Sell it!”

“Sell it to whom?”

“To the Demon Sects!”

“Have you gone mad?”

“If we don’t sell it now, the Sacred Lands will seal the roads and everything will be left rotting in our hands!”

Panic began to spread.

What did merchants fear most?

Not war.

War could still be profitable.

What merchants feared most was uncertainty.

When they believed that the Sacred Lands might seal the roads, the Demon Sects might seize people, and the rogue cultivators might revolt, they would do one thing:

Act first.

Thus, in just two days, the prices of spirit grain, healing pills, talismans, and low-grade weapons in the Land of Darkness tripled.

Caravans operating around the Sacred Lands began hastily withdrawing.

Factions affiliated with the Demon Sects began stockpiling supplies for war.

The rogue cultivators began robbing other rogue cultivators.

Because they believed others were going to rob them, they decided it was better to rob someone else first.

Chaos spread like salt thrown into a pan of hot oil.

Crackle, pop—it erupted in every direction.

Farther away, in eastern Zhongzhou.

At the foot of the Sword Ruins Sacred Land stood a small town crowded with sword cultivators.

In a tavern, an old swordsman with one arm was speaking in a hoarse voice about what had happened at Yellow Springs Ferry.

“Why do you think the White Bone Demon Sect suddenly deployed a corpse formation?”

“Because they possess a corpse puppet.”

“That corpse puppet is suspected to be the Seventh Sword Lord of our Sword Ruins Sacred Land, who disappeared three hundred years ago.”

The moment he said this, more than a dozen sword cultivators in the tavern rose to their feet.

“What did you say?”

The one-armed swordsman sneered.

“I saw that corpse puppet use half of the Falling Star Sword Art with my own eyes.”

“That is a secret technique passed down by our Sword Ruins Sacred Land.”

A young sword cultivator’s eyes widened with fury.

“The White Bone Demon Sect has desecrated the remains of our ancestor!”

“Kill!”

“Let’s storm the Land of Sin!”

Someone nearby urged them to calm down.

“Everyone, remain composed. This matter still needs to be verified.”

The young sword cultivator roared:

“Verified?”

“I have spent my entire life as a swordsman refusing to bend!”

“If the remains of our ancestor have been desecrated, and we still sit here drinking wine, what meaning does our sword heart have?”

That very night.

A group of young disciples from the Sword Ruins secretly descended the mountain.

They did not dare storm the White Bone Demon Sect.

But they did dare attack the peripheral caravans controlled by the White Bone Demon Sect.

Three days later, a convoy transporting materials for corpse puppets was ambushed by sword cultivators in the Land of Darkness.

The convoy was wiped out.

The two True Intent Realm demon cultivators escorting it were slain.

The corpse-puppet materials were burned to ashes.

The White Bone Demon Sect was enraged.

When Gu Ming received the news, he was repairing a corpse puppet damaged in the battle at Yellow Springs Ferry.

The bone needle in his hand paused, and his expression darkened.

“The Sword Ruins Holy Land.”

“Very well. Very, very well.”

A disciple beside him whispered, “Grand Elder, could this be a misunderstanding?”

Gu Ming shot him a cold look.

“A misunderstanding?”

“During the battle at Yellow Springs Ferry, three Martial Gods from the Sword Ruins ambushed the core of my corpse formation.”

“And now they have attacked my supply convoy.”

“You’re telling me this is a misunderstanding?”

The disciple immediately fell silent.

Ghost fire flickered in Gu Ming’s eyes.

He had always been cautious.

But caution was not cowardice.

When every sign pointed to the Sword Ruins, he would no longer retreat.

“Pass on my order.”

“Destroy ten peripheral sword lodges belonging to the Sword Ruins.”

“Refine their sword bones.”

At the same time, friction had also erupted between the Taiyin Holy Land and the Yellow Springs Demon Sect.

The cause was absurd.

A caravan from the Taiyin Holy Land was passing through the Land of Darkness, transporting cold jade and Moon Soul Grass.

Halfway there, word spread that the cargo contained the remnant souls of Yellow Springs disciples. It was supposedly being sent back to the Taiyin Holy Land to refine the Taiyin Soul-Devouring Mirror, a weapon specifically designed to counter the Yellow Springs soul banners.

When the peripheral disciples of the Yellow Springs Demon Sect heard this, they exploded in fury.

They stopped the caravan and demanded to inspect it.

The Taiyin Holy Land naturally refused.

The dispute turned into shoving.

The shoving turned into drawn blades.

In the end, a Taiyin disciple accidentally killed a Yellow Springs demon cultivator.

As the Yellow Springs demon cultivator lay dying, he actually discovered traces of a remnant soul inside one of the jade boxes in the Taiyin caravan.

Of course, Wang Hao had planted that remnant soul there in advance.

And it was not the soul of a Yellow Springs disciple.

It belonged to an unfortunate rogue cultivator.

However, Wang Hao had altered its aura with a Yellow Springs False Soul Talisman.

The disciples of the Yellow Springs Demon Sect could not tell the difference.

And so, the situation exploded completely.

The Yellow Springs Demon Sect dispatched three Martial Gods to attack a cold-moon mine belonging to the Taiyin Holy Land.

The Taiyin Holy Land retaliated by freezing two soul wells belonging to the Yellow Springs Demon Sect.

Hundreds were killed or wounded on both sides.

At that moment, Wang Hao was standing on a snowy ridge outside the cold-moon mine.

He had already changed his face.

Dressed in white, wearing a silver crown, and with a Cold Jade Token hanging from his waist, he looked just like an officer of the Taiyin Holy Land.

Yin Jiuyou stood behind him and whispered, “Your Majesty, the people from the Yellow Springs Demon Sect have already been lured away.”

“Only two Martial Gods remain inside the cold-moon mine.”

Wang Hao nodded.

“Good.”

“Notify Xue Wuhen. Have him set fire from the eastern side.”

“Han Shanyue will break through the formation from the west.”

“Have the Demon Lord keep an eye on those two Martial Gods.”

“I’ll enter the mine.”

Yin Jiuyou reminded him, “Your Majesty, this is an important mine belonging to the Taiyin Holy Land. If we are exposed…”

Wang Hao looked at him.

“Exposed as what?”

“We’re the Yellow Springs Demon Sect now.”

Yin Jiuyou froze.

Wang Hao took out another Yellow Springs Token and weighed it in his hand.

“Leave this behind after we’re done.”

The corner of Yin Jiuyou’s mouth twitched.

“Then why are we wearing Taiyin robes?”

Wang Hao answered calmly, “They make it easier to get through the gates.”

“We’ll change after we’re inside.”

Yin Jiuyou fell silent.

This was exactly like His Majesty.

Half an hour later.

The formation around the cold-moon mine suddenly lit up.

The Taiyin disciples panicked.

“Enemy attack!”

“There’s a fire on the eastern side!”

“The western formation base has been breached!”

“It’s the Yellow Springs Demon Sect!”

A black-robed figure rose into the air, his voice grim and sinister.

“Taiyin dogs, you dared refine the remnant souls of my fellow disciples! Today, you will pay with blood!”

It was Han Shanyue.

Even he felt uncomfortable after shouting those words.

But Wang Hao had insisted that their slogans needed emotion.

So he could only grit his teeth and play along.

The Taiyin Martial Gods rushed out of the mine.

“Yellow Springs Demon Sect, you’re courting death!”

Before the words had even faded, the Demon Lord struck with one palm.

Demonic energy surged like an abyss.

The Taiyin Martial God was sent flying a hundred yards, his expression changing drastically.

“A peak Martial God?”

The other Taiyin Martial God tried to send a message.

But Wang Hao had already appeared from the shadows.

The first strike of the Heaven-Imprisoning Earth-Covering Palm!

Boom!

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth suddenly sank.

The Taiyin Martial God’s body froze.

The second strike!

The third strike!

The fourth strike!

Four palms descended in succession, each layer crushing down upon the last.

The Taiyin Martial God was horrified.

“You’re not from the Yellow Springs—”

Pfft!

The New Son of Heaven Sword shot in from the side, piercing straight through his shoulder.

“Just shut up!”

“Villains always die because they talk too much!”

Wang Hao’s expression darkened.

That sword was becoming far too proficient at delivering those lines.

The Taiyin Martial God was gravely wounded, but he did not die.

Wang Hao did not deliver the finishing blow.

He still needed a survivor.

He needed this survivor to personally witness the “Yellow Springs Demon Sect” looting the cold-moon mine.

He needed the man to carry that fear back to the Taiyin Holy Land.

So Wang Hao had Yin Jiuyou plant the Yellow Springs Soul Banner that they had prepared long ago at the entrance of the mine.

Then he had Xue Wuhen write eight large characters across the mine wall:

Blood for blood, Yellow Springs will repay.

The handwriting was atrocious.