This is a token of my admiration and respect; I hope you, my senior, will accept it with a smile.

Not a single corpse, bloodstain, or even a fallen leaf could be seen.

Eerie...

The man from the Puppet Heaven Holy Land withdrew his hand—along with his puppet—his expression darkening. He glanced sideways at the cowering rogue cultivators behind him, then at the Blood Fiend Sect members.

In a low voice, he said, "Let's go in."

The burly man from the Blood Fiend Sect instantly turned ashen-faced, as if he’d just lost his father.

No—losing his father wouldn’t have made him look this awful.

He cursed inwardly but ultimately didn’t dare voice any objections.

Among cultivators, strength was the ultimate authority.

And unfortunately, the two from the Holy Land clearly outmatched everyone present.

The Blood Fiend Sect man gritted his teeth and spat out a single word: "Move!"

With a wave of his hand, he took the lead, striding stiffly into Anyang City with over a dozen disciples in tow.

The rogue cultivators, their minds clouded by greed, hesitated no longer once someone took the initiative. They surged forward in a chaotic swarm.

The gloomy male disciples of the Joyful Union Sect exchanged glances before silently following.

In the blink of an eye, half the crowd outside the city had vanished.

"Senior Brother..."

Su Jiu’s expression was grave.

She bore the mission of reviving the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox lineage.

To this end, the clan elders had once staked their lives to glimpse the pivotal events she might encounter in the future...

All of it was recorded in her consciousness, available for her to review at will.

That was how she had managed to predict the appearance of the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm multiple times.

But...

Neither the two supreme powerholders in Qihuang Gorge nor the overnight abandonment of Anyang had ever appeared in the "future" she knew...

It seemed...

The future had shifted...

This was both good and bad.

Good, because the future she had foreseen was one of inevitable failure.

Bad, because she might soon lose the advantage of foresight.

By now, the Puppet Heaven Holy Land man had already stowed his white-jade puppet back into its large wooden case.

He turned, his gaze settling on Su Ji and Su Jiu.

"You two, not moving yet?"

Su Ji immediately plastered on an ingratiating smile, scurrying over to the man while bowing repeatedly.

He pulled out ten high-grade spirit stones from his robes and unceremoniously shoved them into the man’s hands.

"Esteemed senior, your might shakes the heavens! This junior is in awe."

"A humble token of admiration—please accept it."

The man stared at the spirit stones in his hand, momentarily stunned.

In his century of life, this was the first time he’d encountered such a brazen bribery attempt.

Right in front of everyone, no less?

He wanted to lash out, but there was no hitting a smiling face.

If he struck down someone who flattered the Puppet Heaven Holy Land so openly, who would dare sing their praises in the future?

This trip wasn’t just about his personal dignity.

Was this kid an idiot, or was he pretending?

Behind him, the woman’s icy demeanor showed the faintest crack.

"Senior, you see..."

Su Ji rubbed his hands together, eyes gleaming with expectation.

"This junior’s cultivation is weak, and my courage is even smaller. This city feels so sinister..."

The moment those words left his mouth, the woman’s face frosted over completely.

The emerald-green metal serpent coiled at her waist silently raised its head, its cold, reptilian eyes locking onto Su Ji.

A dangerous aura permeated the air.

"Scram."

She uttered just one word.

But Su Ji acted as if granted imperial pardon, his face splitting into a grin.

"Right away!"

The Blood Fiend Sect’s burly leader, hearing the commotion, glanced back and nearly laughed out loud.

He despised bootlickers like this—true cultivators should rely on their own strength!

See? This was what happened when you tried to curry favor.

They didn’t want it.

Of course, Su Ji was grinning too.

[Conversation with Li Xi triggered. Target barely meets aesthetic standards. Romance options available.]

[Option 1: Immediately snap back, "Who the hell do you think you’re talking to, huh?" (Reward: Instant combat initiation.)]

[Option 2: Switch to a lovestruck expression, "Elder Sister, your scolding is music to my ears—could you berate me some more?" (Reward: Li Xi’s favor +5, Su Jiu’s favor -3.)]

[Option 3: Stay silent, enter the city with a darkened expression. (Reward: Inheritance trial unlocked.)]

[Permanent Option: Offer thy meager life as tribute to my peerless sword path! (Current kill count: 3.)]

Finally, the options appeared.

Su Ji decided to let them hover over her head for now.

It wasn’t time to flip the table yet.

If she insulted him again later, he’d just offer her to his sword.

Damn it. He’d gone all out with ten high-grade spirit stones—after all, the man was a Golden Core cultivator, so the bribe couldn’t be too shabby.

Just when the guy was about to relent, this woman had to butt in.

Su Ji saw through their game now.

A scheming couple, putting on an act to swindle his spirit stones?

This grudge was noted.

Maybe he should check out that inheritance trial from Option 3...

A demonic cultivator’s legacy?

Su Ji darted back to Su Jiu, grabbed her hand, and tugged her toward the city.

"Junior Sister, hurry! The seniors have spoken—we mustn’t delay."

And so, the two stepped through the gates.

A bone-chilling cold instantly assaulted them from all directions.

Not a drop in temperature—this was a deeper, more insidious cold that seeped straight into the soul, making them shiver involuntarily.

Su Ji reflexively tightened his grip on Su Jiu’s hand.

She stiffened slightly but didn’t pull away.

Her palm was icy.

Ahead, those who had entered earlier had all halted, warily scanning their surroundings.

The streets remained empty.

Silence.

A silence so thick you could hear a pin drop.

"Something’s wrong," Su Ji muttered, frowning.

"It’s too quiet."

Even a dead city shouldn’t be this soundless.

No wind, no insects, not even their own footsteps—as if the eerie stillness had swallowed every noise whole.

The Blood Fiend Sect leader clearly sensed it too. He signaled to a disciple beside him.

The disciple nodded, retrieving a palm-sized bronze bell from his storage pouch.

Channeling a wisp of spiritual energy, he gave it a gentle shake.

"Ding-a-ling—"

The crisp chime rang out, only to fade without an echo.

Everyone’s expressions grew grimmer.

"Enough with the theatrics!"

A hot-tempered rogue cultivator finally snapped. With a roar, he summoned a flying sword and slashed at a shop’s signboard.

"Boom!"

The sign shattered, splinters flying.

But nothing else happened.

The rogue cultivator blinked, then grinned in relief.

"What’s there to fear?"

"Nothing dangerous here! The corpses were probably just taken by demonic cultivators—perfect materials for their rituals!"

With that, he charged deeper into the city, heading straight for a conspicuously opulent money house.

Seeing his boldness, the others could no longer resist.

Once again, greed overpowered reason.

Dozens of rogue cultivators transformed into streaks of light, charging toward various parts of the city in a desperate bid to seize the first opportunity.

The disciples of the Blood Fiend Sect and the Joyful Union Sect, though not as reckless as those rogue cultivators, also began to act separately, cautiously exploring in different directions.

Su Ji pulled Su Jiu behind a stone pillar, watching the scene unfold with cold detachment.

"Senior Brother, should we—"

Su Jiu started to speak but was immediately silenced by Su Ji's raised hand.

"Shh."

He gestured for silence, his gaze fixed on the rogue cultivators who had rushed into the shops.

No sooner had he spoken than—

A sudden, eerie transformation occurred.

The cultivators who had just entered the shops froze in place the moment they crossed the thresholds, their bodies rigid without warning.

The expressions on their faces remained locked in the ecstasy of the previous moment.

Then—

Under the horrified gazes of all onlookers—

Their bodies began to crumble like sand sculptures eroded by the wind, disintegrating bit by bit from their feet upward.

No screams. No struggle.

The entire process was unnervingly silent.

In just a few breaths, those dozens of living cultivators turned into clouds of dust, scattering into the air without a trace.

Not even a drop of blood was left behind.