As Long as You Make a Detailed Plan

What kind of righteous and honorable sect is this?

Which righteous leader lives in a place full of bones?

Even the smell of blood hasn’t faded yet!

Ning Qianqian felt deceived once again! These cultivators were no good people! Everything they said was a lie!

She was done for! She was going to be used by demonic cultivators for their sinister practices!

Chu Xingchen, at this moment, didn’t have the mind to pay attention to the pale face of the girl beside him because he, too, was somewhat angry.

When they left, the surroundings were lush and green, the air fresh and clean. But now, returning home felt like stepping into a demon’s lair.

At the entrance of the dilapidated temple, Chu Xingchen set down the silent Ning Qianqian and shouted,

“What the hell are you two rascals doing?”

Inside the temple, Li Yingling was the first to rush out, her face filled with excitement as she ran to hug her master.

“Master, you’re finally back!”

Before Chu Xingchen could even question her, Li Xingtian emerged from the temple, covered in blood, his eyes bloodshot, carrying an aura of boundless killing intent. In his hand, he held the severed head of a tiger.

His first words to Chu Xingchen were the same, though tinged with a hint of lament:

“Master, you’re finally back.”

Pushing Li Yingling aside, Chu Xingchen pointed at the gruesome display of animal heads and demanded,

“What is this?”

Li Yingling glanced over and immediately understood why her master was angry. She quickly shifted the blame, saying,

“This was all caused by my junior brother’s cultivation!”

Ning Qianqian, who was trembling nearby and still clinging to a sliver of hope, felt her heart sink upon hearing this.

Though she didn’t understand much about the cultivation world, she was certain that no righteous sect would employ such a bloody method of cultivation.

She turned her gaze to the pile of heads and felt as though her own head might soon be added to the collection.

Chu Xingchen’s stern gaze shifted to Li Xingtian, who was still holding the tiger’s head, his eyes filled with a silent demand for an explanation.

Faced with his master’s questioning look, Li Xingtian silently glanced at his senior sister, hesitating to refute her blame-shifting.

Truth be told, most of the animals had been captured by his senior sister, and the current situation was, in theory, more her responsibility.

After all, Li Xingtian had initially planned to find a remote spot to dig a pit and bury the bones.

The scene did look horrifying, and the smell was unbearable.

But his senior sister thought it was too much trouble and suggested waiting until they had more bones to bury them all at once.

Li Xingtian suspected that his senior sister only said this because her hut was on the leeward side, and she couldn’t smell the stench of blood at night.

But since it was a minor matter, Li Xingtian agreed. Over the past few days, he had been so engrossed in his cultivation that he hadn’t noticed the growing pile of carcasses outside.

Seeing this scene upon returning… no wonder his master was angry.

But the truth was, as his senior sister had said, the root of this situation was indeed his own cultivation.

So, Li Xingtian could only lower his head and admit his fault.

“Sorry, Master. I’ve been too absorbed in my cultivation lately. I’ll clean this up right away.”

After watching Li Xingtian start handling the bones, Li Yingling turned her attention to the petite Ning Qianqian standing beside her master. She noticed how thin and small she looked, her face pale, and her hands trembling uncontrollably.

She looked even weaker than her junior brother.

“Master… is this your new disciple?”

“No, she’s a victim of the Qingfeng Sect’s misdeeds,” Chu Xingchen sighed, then gestured for Ning Qianqian to follow him into the temple.

Ning Qianqian, too frightened to move, stammered, “I… I’ll just stay at the entrance.”

Seeing her pale face, Chu Xingchen immediately understood that the bloody scene had terrified her. He quickly explained,

“Don’t worry, we really are a righteous sect, not demonic cultivators. It’s just that my second disciple’s cultivation technique requires a solid foundation before reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, so he uses the blood and flesh of beasts.”

Hearing this, Ning Qianqian glanced again at the pile of heads and noticed that there were no human heads among them. Her tension eased slightly.

She followed Chu Xingchen into the temple.

Inside, the temple was surprisingly clean, devoid of the hellish scene she had imagined.

The floor was plain and tidy, with no piles of heads or bloody mess. There were only two small wooden beds, simple and neat.

Two iron pots, one large and one small, sat nearby.

The large pot was filled with bubbling, crimson blood.

The smaller pot, however, was spotless.

Li Yingling followed them in.

Ever since they started practicing that peculiar cultivation technique, Li Yingling and Li Xingtian had hunted nearly all the animals in the surrounding area.

After all, Shili Slope wasn’t a place where spiritual veins converged, so there were no magical beasts or spirit animals—just ordinary animals for their cultivation.

The efficiency wasn’t great, so they had to rely on quantity.

“Master, how are things over there?” Li Yingling poured a cup of water from a kettle on the table and handed it to her master.

Chu Xingchen shook his head slightly. “It’s manageable, but the Qingfeng Sect has gone too far.”

“What do you mean?” Li Yingling asked, puzzled.

Chu Xingchen briefly explained Ning Qianqian’s situation and shared what he had witnessed at the mine.

After hearing the full story, Li Yingling nodded calmly.

As a noblewoman from a powerful family, she had heard many stories of such heartless exploitation since childhood.

In fact, her own family had likely engaged in similar practices.

But that didn’t mean she condoned such behavior. Most of the time, Li Yingling could do nothing about it.

As a concubine’s daughter, her status in her original family was only slightly better than that of a servant.

Otherwise, her father wouldn’t have arranged for her to marry a fool.

She looked at Ning Qianqian with sympathy and comforted her,

“We’ll do our best to help you. Try not to worry too much.”

Ning Qianqian nodded silently, her eyes filled with gratitude as she looked at Li Yingling.

“Thank you, sister.”

Chu Xingchen didn’t say much more. He gestured with his eyes for Li Yingling to continue comforting Ning Qianqian, as women might better understand each other’s feelings.

Stepping out of the temple, Chu Xingchen saw Li Xingtian handling and moving the animal bones. Without a word, Chu Xingchen went to help.

The pile of bones wasn’t actually that large, but the size of the animals made it seem more extensive. Chu Xingchen raised his hand and conjured a flame, reducing the bones to ashes.

With another wave of his hand, he sent the ashes flying into the distance.

Once the cleanup was done, Chu Xingchen didn’t say much. He simply handed Li Xingtian a rough map he had drawn of the mine’s layout.

“If we plan to rescue people from the mine, how difficult would it be?”

Li Xingtian glanced at the map and replied, “If Master were at the Nascent Soul stage, it wouldn’t be difficult at all.”

Chu Xingchen remained silent.

Li Xingtian coughed lightly. “…Even at the Golden Core stage, if we act quickly, it’s possible.”

“I can only exert the strength of a flawless Golden Core right now,” Chu Xingchen admitted.

Rolling up the map, Li Xingtian didn’t ask further questions or hesitate. Instead, he responded earnestly, “With a well-thought-out plan, it shouldn’t be too difficult.”